Beauty and the BastarBeast
by X-Feli-Chan-X
Summary: Roy is a gifted, but vain alchemist, who refuses to share his secrets, and was curse because of it. Edward is the odd one out in his new town; he is as intelligent as he is handsome. Is it fate that draws them together? Or something else? RoyXEd
1. Prologue

**So, this is to take place of GBL, because I just neeeed a chapter fic I can fall back on. XD**

**I have up to chapter three written in a notebook, I hope for this to go well, and maybe I'll actually be able to update somewhat regularly with this fic.**

**Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, so I figured, why not mix it with my favorite show, and couple? This is the start of the crazyness that ensues. **

**There will be some 'M' rated scenes in later chapters, I just figured I'd stick it in the 'Mature' area now and save myself the trouble later. ^^;**

**I think there was more I wanted to say, but I can't seem to think of it now..**

**Anywho! I hope you all enjoy the Prolouge!**

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><p>Roy Mustang lived in an enormous estate filled with many servants. He was rich and his mansion was decorated in only the finest of furniture. He made his money from alchemy, and a special form of it at that. Since long ago, the mysterious art of flame alchemy had been lost. Many alchemists and scientists alike came to his mansion, begging for him to share his secrets. However, he rudely turned them all away.<p>

The young Mustang held many parties at his estate and his good looks brought him many admirers. With his ebony black hair, deep azure eyes, and fall and fit physique, women of all ages fawned over him. However, though he would treat them well for the night he was with them, or if he was in public with them, if they were to come to his door the next morning or send him a messenger, he would cruelly turn them away, like he would the alchemists and scientists. Though his women escorts were beautiful and often came from rich families, they had not the intelligence, nor the brain capacity for such intelligence that young Mustang sought for in a companion.

One particularly cold and snowy winter night, a hunched-over figure appeared on Roy's step. The servant who answered hesitantly went and told his slumbering master that he had a visitor. Roy, who did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night, stormed to the entrance hall.

"What do you want?" Never before had anyone bothered him so late at night, it made him both wary and annoyed.

"Please, sir, will you tell me something?" Roy flinched at the woman's raspy voice, and narrowed his eyes.

"That would depend," came his curt reply.

The woman nodded and stood up straighter, taking down the hood of her cloak to reveal an old and rather ugly woman. Roy visibly cringed, now glaring at the woman, as she offered him a red rose.

"Will you tell me the secrets of your fire alchemy?" Roy snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Of course not!" He promptly slammed the door in the woman's face. However, her hand on the door stopped him. The strength from such an old woman confused Roy. Before he could blink, he was on his back, the door was thrown open, and he could only stare in horror at the woman.

Alchemically conducted electricity ran up and down her body and her grey hair was swirling around her head wildly. Her beady black eyes pierced into frightened blue.

At once Roy realized that the woman before him was the mysterious Dante. He had heard of her from an alchemist. She had been said to be searching for rare alchemy in every form possible. Also, it was rumored that she has been alive for decades beyond her time.

She slowly stalked toward him and Roy hurriedly tried to scramble back. He was stopped when she reached down and grabbed him by his nightshirt and hoisted him to his feet. Roy winced as he felt her musty breath ghost over his skin. The bloody red rose was held between their faces.

"I'll ask you once more," her voice was trying to be sweet, but it sounded sickly. "Will you tell me your secrets?"

Roy Mustang was stubborn, it ran in his family.

"No." Dante cackled madly, throwing Roy to the floor.

"Fine. You clearly won't share your precious information with me. Therefore," Dante clapped and smiled almost demonically at Roy, "until you can share your alchemy secrets and learn to truly love someone and earn their love in return, you and your household will be forever changed." As she spoke, the electricity that pulsed around her began to crawl along the floor of the large entryway before quickly spreading around the house and onto the people within it. "Once this enchanted rose wilts on your 30th birthday, you and your household will retain these forms forever."

Roy did his best to hold in his scream as white-hot pain lanced through him. The sight of Dante laughing at him and dropping the rose was the last thing he saw.

Roy awoke hours later on the cold marble of the entrance hall. He slowly sat up and shook his head. Looking around the dawn-lit hall, he found the rose from the previous night. Picking up the rose absentmindedly and staring at the large closed doors in front of him, he laughed. What a silly old woman! To truly fall in love within two years? Impossible!

He continued to laugh hysterically as he climbed the large set of stairs leading to the second floor. He could easily find a woman who would love him, and to love her? Well, he could always fake it. It wasn't as if the crazy old hag's enchantment actually wor-

Roy froze as he passed a hallway mirror and immediately backtracked. He stared into it for a long while before letting out a loud scream in a mix of shock and rage. The mirror shattered against his fist. Staring at his black, fur covered, clawed hand, Roy slumped to the ground.

Dante's words were true. But who would dare to look at him, let alone love him, when he looked like this?


	2. The Introduction of the Beauty

**So here we are a week later, and so far I am keeping up with myupdate once a week thing...YAY!**

**I hope to update this story once a week...and good news is I'm starting to write chapter 5! YAY! hehe**

**Well, I want to thank all of you who have already favorited, alerted, and/or reviewed this story based on the Prologue alone. It means a lot!**

** I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**~Feli~**

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><p>Edward moved around another unpacked box while nearly tripping on another.<p>

"Damn it, Winry!" Ed hissed as he clung to his right foot, hopping around. "Why did you have to bring so much shit with you?" Said lemon blonde stuck her head out from her workshop, scowling.

"It's not shit! It's my livelihood! You know I need it both for my business _and_ for your arm and leg." Edward glanced away from her bright blue eyes and stared at his automail hand, flexing it. Winry saw the look in his eyes and was about to go to him when a soft clanging was heard coming in from the kitchen.

"Brother?" Edward's head snapped up at the echoey sound of his little brother's voice. Seeing Al standing there in the doorway, Edward was taken back a few years to the accident that had cost them so much.  
>Edward and Alphonse had been traveling home in their relatively new 'crank-to-start' car with their mother driving. Ed couldn't remember exactly what happened, all he knew was that he woke up on the side of the road, a severe pain ripping through both his left leg and right arm.<p>

He had looked around the scene and seen their car ablaze. Frantic, he tried to get up but fell back, panting in pain. As he lay on his back, he tried to find out what he could from his vantage point. He couldn't find Al at all, but he could see his mother's charred and unmoving form only a few feet from him, reaching toward him. As much as he wanted to crawl to her, he could not move...

He had woken up again in his friend's house in what looked to be her grandmother's automail attachment room. He had lost both his arm and leg and his friend Winry and her grandmother had both removed the useless limbs and done the painful procedure of putting on automail ports while he was out.

"Brother?" Edward shook his head and snapped himself from the nightmarish memory. He stared at the suit of armor his little brother had hid in since the accident. Neither he nor Winry had been able to coax him out of it for long. He would only come out for time enough to bathe and dress himself. He would even eat inside the armor. Alphonse refused to tell either Ed or Winry what it was about the accident that had scared him into the suit.

"Yeah, Al?"

"I...The people in town...I still don't think they like me." At the sad tone in his voice, Edward frowned. The three of them had moved to the town of Central a month ago to get away from the memories that haunted them and to try and give Al a change of scenery.

"They just don't understand, Al. Just give them some time and they'll come around." Ed shook his head, doing his best to keep his fake smile on his face. He didn't want to show Al how upset he was. He, himself did not fancy the new town very much either. The townspeople were either amazed by him, with his automail, or scared of him, because of it. One person in town had gotten into the habit of stalking Ed. Edward was rather frightened of the man. When Ed looked behind him in town, he would almost always see a figure with long, dark green hair and violet eyes trailing behind him. However, he put up with it all because Winry had good business here as the town's doctor.

"Yeah, I suppose...Brother, do you think you could pick up the books I ordered from the bookshop?"  
>Ed's fake smile quickly became real as he nodded.<p>

"Sure thing, I'll go grab them now. I'll be back soon." Edward tapped Al's chest-plate as he walked past him and strode out the door and down the dusty road that lead to town.

Edward sighed happily after he said good-bye to the shop keeper. He hadn't felt the violating eyes following him the entire way through town to the store. Holding the packaging that held the books to his chest, Ed walked toward the edge of town to walk between where the forest began and the town ended. He didn't want to chance walking through town and gaining his missing stalker's attention.

The orange, red, and brown leaves crackled under his uneven footsteps. It was late-afternoon with a cool autumn breeze weaving through the trees. Edward lifted his head back and closed his eyes as he continued his walk, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face.

Edward stopped in his tracks as he heard a branch snap behind him. He tilted his head to the side, casually cracking open one eye. Behind him was, indeed his stalker. Ed immediately began walking faster than he had before but, sadly, he had left town and was currently between the forest and the field. There was at least another mile between his home and where he now stood outside of town.

"Edward," crooned a feminine-sounding voice from behind. "Don't run from me, love." A pale hand suddenly wrapped around Ed's left arm, pulling him against the green-haired man's chest.

"Damn it, Envy. Let me go, and leave me alone." Edward growled out as Envy turned him around sharply.

"I love you and you will learn to love me in time. You will be mine. You are mine." Edward struggled against Envy as he attempted to kiss the blonde. He managed to sloppily kiss Ed on the cheek before Ed managed to slug Envy with his automail fist.

Edward then managed to shove Envy away and he ran into the forest. When he first entered the treeline, he tripped and the parcel he held flew from his hands. For a moment, he scrambled and tried to find it. But then he heard Envy curse not too far away and the sound of him running. Edward forgot about the books and picked himself up and ran as fast as he could, weaving through the trees and going deeper into the forest.  
>After a while, when he could no longer hear Envy trampling through the undergrowth behind him, he slowed down and took a look around, panting heavily. His eyes widened as he realized he no longer knew where he was or what direction he was facing.<p>

"Oh, no." He quickly took note of the setting sun and turned to his left, following it; hoping to, at the very least, find a pathway.

Luckily, he found a worn-away path with weeds and roots growing all along it. He sighed with relief as he walked onto the path. However, he frowned as he realized that he didn't know which way to go. To the left, the forest seemed too overrun with roots and looked darker than the path continuing to the right.

'_I've got to get home soon. Al and Win are gonna be worried sick,'_ Edward thought as he walked to the right. As he walked, it continuously got darker and darker in the forest and he found he did not recognize the path or any landmarks. Worried he was only getting more lost; he stopped and began to turn around. The moment he did, he heard a 'snap' somewhere off the path that made him jump. After the 'snap' came several loud and threatening growls.

"Shit."


	3. The Enchanted Mansion

**Hello! Another week has gone by and a another new chapter! ^w^**

**(I like that I'm able to keep posting on time!) (The chapter was edited by old Meep)**

**So, Inumini1 asked a great question that is anwsered in this chapter actually! Ed _is_ an alchemist. Though he is not the alchemist of neither Brotherhood, nor the original anime. Because his mom died in a car crash, and in that crash he lost his arm and leg and Al got scared into the armour, there's no reason for him to go to the Gate. There fore he has not seen the Truth, and cannot do alchemy by merely clapping his hands. ^^**

**Oh, so hopefully within the next two weeks, I'll be posting the RP me and my friend (the old Meep) wrote! (On a new joint account that she will notdelete herself off of, because I will have to kill her this time...hehe ^W^)**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Tell me what you think, or if you have any questions!**

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><p>The wolves stepped out from the trees and into the path, blocking Edward's retreat. The growling escalated as he took a hesitant step back.<p>

'_Either stand here like an idiot and get ripped apart, or run down this path, hope to outrun the pack, and pray I can find help...'_ He glanced around once more as the pack began closing ranks and spun around, sprinting away from them.

Even though he tripped over gnarled roots and branches ripped at his brown coat, he kept going. He could just see a house on the horizon. _'Finally.'_ He pushed himself to go faster. Edward was panting with exhaustion by the time he reached the large, closed gates. He tried to slow to a stop before the gates, but failed to. Instead, he put his arms in front of him to brace himself against the metal.

"Anyone here? Hello?" Edward shouted, rattling the gates. He did not want to trespass on somebody's land, however, when he looked behind himself, his eyes widened in terror as the wolves came out of the treeline. The wolves prowled slowly toward him, believing they had cornered their prey.

Edward gnawed on his lip while he began to carefully slide one foot through the gate's bars, and worked the rest of his body through as well. The leader of the wolves seemed to realize Ed was almost out of their reach, and it leaped at him. Startled, Edward fell through the gate and landed roughly on his side. Wincing, he sat up and edged away from the gate as the other wolves surged and he gate shook at the pack's combined weight.

Standing up fairly quickly, Edward hurried to what he assumed was the front of the building. The dark wooden doors had intricate carvings on them; he came under the overhang of the roof and stared up at the rest of huge mansion before him. The building seemed to have been made from red brick with large and rather spacious-looking windows. He walked off the step and wandered around the front of the house. He tried to peek into the windows, but found the curtains were all closed. Frowning a little, he returned to the door.

Taking a deep breath, Edward knocked loudly on the door. He stood there shivering as a chilling pre-winter wind whipped around the house. He tested the doorknob hesitantly it seemed to be locked. He looked up as the light of day was quickly leaving the forest clearing the mansion was in the middle of. He could see clouds coming in quickly over the trees, dark and angry-looking storm clouds. He could have sworn those were not there before.

"Hello?" Edward shouted as he pounded on the door. He didn't want to trespass more than he already had. The sky above him suddenly broke with the wind whipping the rain directly into the front of the house and onto Ed. "Shit, that's cold!"

Edward turned back to the door, thinking he had heard something beyond it. "Hello?" Frowning and glancing around, he placed his hand on the doorknob once more, deciding that if it didn't open this time, he'd have to use alchemy.

He and Alphonse had learned alchemy at very young ages, just after their father had left their mother. Their mother had been so proud that they not only understood the complex formulas, but that they could also perform it. It was after the death of his mother that Edward slowly stopped using alchemy. He used it only when absolutely necessary, because performing it often sapped him of his energy.  
>Edward weighed his options: he was cold, and soaked to bone, bound to get sick if he stayed out, and if he stayed out too long, he would surely get hypothermia. Or he could use his alchemy with his energy as low as it was and risk passing out...But at least he'd have a roof over his head, right?<p>

He tried the knob and found it was locked. He sighed as he took out a small piece of chalk from his inner coat pocket, quickly drawing an array on the wet wood before it washed away. Placing his hands on the array, he focused and felt a pulse of energy move from him to the activated array, and then the doors swung open. Edward partially fell into the door, catching himself on the frame.  
>He panted heavily as he tried to regain his footing and some of his strength. The blonde then looked around the large, dark entryway, spotting an archway on either side of the room and a grand staircase against the back wall.<p>

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Edward called out, closing the large doors with a loud creak. He glanced around, thinking he had heard someone walking by. "I'm sorry for intruding, but I was chased by a pack of wolves, and it's dark out, and there's a horrible storm outside." Edward looked over to the right and blinked as he saw a faint glow coming from the room. He took this as a sign to walk into the room. "I'm wondering if perhaps you could tell me where abouts we are? I got lost in the woods..." He reached the room and saw that the light in the room was coming from a barely lit fire in a enormous fireplace and a candelabra on the mantle. He found a dark blue rug, accompanied by both a navy armchair and a deep blue, plush-looking loveseat. Edward gulped a little as he spotted the fire and kept himself behind the loveseat. He was a little shocked to find both the armchair and the sofa empty.

"Please, have a seat."

Edward jumped and looked around wildly at the sound of a voice. It sounded as though it had come from the archway he had just came through. He spun around, keeping a hand on the back of the sofa to steady himself. However, he found no one in the archway.

"This is a bad idea, Maes. You and Jean both know the master will not be pleased." A feminine voice came from the other side of the large armchair. He crept over to it, and found only a wind up clock on the end table.

"Now, now, Riza," a male voice from the fireplace sounded. "Can't you see he's soaked to the bone!"

"Yes, and he is dripping all over the floor."

Edward began to feel very self-conscious and he tried to hold his coat closer to him. Just as he was about to apologize, another male voice-the first voice-sounded just behind Ed.

"Oh Riza, have a heart, if only for a night? We can send him on his way in the morning; after we've given him some of Gracia's glorious cooking!"

Edward spun around, frustrated at being unable to find exactly where, or _who_ was talking, and he was growing more confused as the three voices began to argue.

"Excuse me," the voices fell silent. "Where are you all?"

There was a hesitant pause. "Why, sir, we are here in the room with you!"

"Yes," Edward sighed, rather annoyed, some of it leaked into his tone. "But I'd like to see you, this is a little odd."

He saw the candelabra move first, closer to the edge of the fireplace, before falling/jumping down and hopping over toward him. Next, he saw the clock turn around and he stumbled back as he could clearly see a feminine face.

"Hey now, kiddo, look out!" Edward jumped again as he saw a teapot with glasses and green eyes staring at him.

"Wha-wha...How?" Edward could feel his head going light. He clutched the back of the armchair as he felt the room spin.

"I," the candle holder jumped up beside the clock, "am Jean." He nudged the clock and she sighed.

"My name is Riza."

"And I, dear new friend, am Maes -and my wife's cooking is too-oh no."

Edward had turned to face the teapot, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw the candle hiding behind the clock, trembling. The clock, herself, just stood there, her brown eyes wide.  
>Edward turned around completely, his head spinning and black dots already blurring his vision. The last thing he heard was an angry roar and the last thing he saw was a black blur.<p> 


	4. The Introduction of the Bastard Beast

**Ooop! Sorry! It's a day late I know, but I was busy with Halloween, and I didn't get home until nineish...and there was homework as well...(and I'm currently avoiding doing it now...XD)**

**Anywho! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! The next chapter *will* be up next monday! (For sure!)**

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><p>Roy was more than a little shocked when the small blonde he had been roaring at suddenly fell face-first into him. Clumsily, Roy managed to catch him, growling at the back of the intruding blonde's head before swinging him over his shoulder. He ignored his servants' protests and stormed toward the staircase, heading for the tower dungeon. As he opened the door to the room, he shivered. The walls were completely made of stone, the wooden floor was splintered, and the roof had a hole in it which the rainwater from outside steadily fell through. The room itself had not been taken care of in years. Roy dumped the boy into the room before storming out and slamming the thick door shut behind him.<p>

"Sir, that wasn't necessary."

"Master, we were only trying to help!"

He let out a beastly, outraged roar. This time, however, the three were unfazed.

"Roy. This is wrong and you know it." The teapot hopped forward, glaring openly at his master and best friend. Roy growled lowly but Maes ignored him, and continued, "The boy asked several times if anyone was here and he was very hesitant when he _did_ enter. I know you could hear him explaining himself."

Roy flattened his ears and ducked his head away. It was true, he _had_ heard the boy's excuses, but...

"He still trespassed," he whined childishly. Maes rolled his eyes and hopped backward near Riza.

"Master, have you even spared a thought towards the fact that _he_ could possibly break the spell?" Roy stiffened for a moment before swinging his head to glare at Jean.

"I'm not gay-"

"Sir, at this point it doesn't matter; you have one year left. This is the first visitor we've had since the curse! The only visitor we are likely to ever have! You must at least _try,_ sir!"

Roy growled and turned to look through the bared windows of the dungeon. The small blonde inside had his back to Roy but he could still see him shivering, rather violently, on the floor. Something in his heart stung a little at the sight.

"I'll...Move him to another room." Jean nodded approvingly and Maes muttered,

"It's a step in the right direction." Roy opened the door and winced inwardly as it made a loud creek that made the boy in front of him jump.

"Are you hurt?" He winced again as he heard how gravelly his voice was. He wondered how his...Visitor...Would react to it. It was dark and Jean had not followed him in, but instead was waiting just outside the door, lit -so they boy could not see him well. Roy did not know if this was a good thing or bad.

"N-no," Roy could hear his teeth chatter as he pushed himself into a sitting position before turning around. "W-who are y-you?"

"I am the master of this estate. And you..." Roy paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say next. "In exchange for entering my home uninvited, you will have to remain here forever." The blonde's head snapped up and Roy was shocked by the anger that glittered in the boy's large and expressive eyes.

"What?" His outrage overpowered the tremor in his voice caused by his chattering teeth. "I tried to ask if I could! But no one answered me!" Roy frowned a little, not used to being yelled at by anyone, other than Maes and Riza, and did not take it well.

"Perhaps I did not want you to enter, perhaps I didn't care," Roy growled loudly, watching as the younger flinched.

"Well, after I came in, one of your staff welcomed me," the other said firmly. Roy was a little amazed the small boy hadn't backed down completely. Then he remembered the boy still couldn't see him. Just as he was about to growl threateningly again, Riza whispered somewhere behind him,

"Be nice." Roy glowered a little as he turned back into what the younger was saying.

"-I have a little brother, and he needs me!" Roy vaguely remembered him mentioning someone living with him and his brother, though he couldn't fathom the reason why.

"What about this...Whinny girl you said lived with you?"

"It's _Winry_, and she-"

"_She _can take care of your brother. _You_ will remain here."

"Bastard! This isn't fair."

"Not much in life is. Now stand up and I will take you to your room." Before he turned, he saw the anger become replaced by confusion.

"What do you mean? Isn't this-"

"Do you _want_ to stay in this tower?" Roy watched almost bemused as he looked up at the ceiling and muttered a soft and hesitant,

"No."

"Then follow me." He began walking out of the room, picking up Jean as he went. After a moment, as he started down the stair he could hear the other following. He heard a gasp and knew the boy could finally see what he looked like, at least from behind. He sighed and ignored the somewhat concerned look Jean shot him.

_'This is never going to work,'_Roy's shoulders slumped as he continued to walk down the stairs.

Edward stepped out of the freezing room and found the stairwell a bit warmer. He then followed the bobbing light ahead of him, being sure to keep his hands on the walls to keep himself from tripping too badly. When he caught up with the light and the master of the house, he gasped.

The master of the estate wore a tattered black cape and the ends of his navy blue slacks were tattered as well. But what truly made Edward gasp was the tail he saw dragging behind him on the steps. It was long, black, sleek to start out, and fluffy looking at the end. His eyes slowly traveled up, and he saw a black, furred, clawed paw holding onto...What was his name? Jean? And his neck had what looked to be rather thick, black fur, all along his neck _and_ head. He could even see little, almost dog-like floppy ears on the sides of his head. He winced a little as he could barely imagine what his face must look like.

Seeing the living candelabra turning to look back at him, Edward quickly turned his head to look like he was admiring the many, identical suites of armor lining the current hall they walked down. Ed bit his lower lip nervously as they continued down the hall, silent. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable and a little awkward. He felt he had to do something to break the silence, or else he'd go insane.

"My name's Edward Elric."

The beast in front of him jumped in shock at the breaking of the silence. Edward looked at the back of the black, furred head in front of him, as the creature did not respond. Ed waited a few moments while the silence settled back in, hoping for a response. "What's your name?"

Still silent. "Well?" The blonde prompted.

The beast sped up a little before he ground out,

"You are not allowed in the West Wing of the mansion, but you are free to roam anywhere else." Edward frowned, he could be just as stubborn, keeping pace.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"And what was your question?" Edward huffed. Now he was just being difficult.

"Your name. What is it?"

"That is no concern of yours." Edward ground his teeth in frustration.

"Well then what am I to call you?"

There was no answer. "Bastard," the Elric muttered under his breath.

He bumped into the creature in front of him and jumped back a little, finally able to see his face. He wore no shirt, his chest was covered with raven-colored black fur, that traveled both lower into his pants, and upward onto his neck. The fur on his face was barely a shade lighter than the rest of his body. His lower jaw was jutting out a bit more than his upper, showing off two large, fang-like teeth from his bottom jaw. His nose had a large, bump-like curve to it.

Before Ed could take note of his eyes, the beast had spun around again, and Ed realized belatedly it was because of the look on his face. Just as he opened his mouth to apologize, the other beat him to it by opening a door to his left and pointing inside.

"This is to be your room. And you are to join me for dinner; no excuses. And the black furred creature then stalked down the hall, leaving Ed alone in the hall, his mouth still open to apologize.


	5. The Bastard's Take On The Meeting

**Another week, and I thank you all for your wonderful reviews! ^w^**

**And so you all know, um yeah, Roy looks a lot like the Beast from the Disney version. Only he has black fur, and no horns, and his lower fangs are so...huge XD**

**I hope you will all enjoy this chapter as well, the next one shall be out next Monday, I hope to hear from you all again soon! (and if you have any questions please do ask!)**

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><p>Roy paced around his room angrily.<p>

"Sir, I'm sure you're overreacting-"

"You didn't see his face," Roy roared at Riza. He ignored her glare and turned around sharply with his cape flaring out behind him. The shock in his eyes, the way his jaw slowly dropped...He smashed the end table that was near him. He was mad wasn't mad at the blonde, exactly. Hurt, yes, mad, not quite. What aggravated him was that his friends were not listening to him. They didn't believe him when he said that there was no way for him and Edward to fall in love.

_'...Edward,'_ Roy mused looking out into the rainy night sky. _'He said his name was Edward Elric...'_ Roy thought it over for a moment and found he didn't recognize the family name. However, he _did_ find that he liked the name; it fit him. And how thick and golden his braid was, and the bright intensity of his eyes...  
>Roy shook his head and began pacing again.<p>

"Master," Jean hopped alongside him. "I _was_ there, you have to expect he would look at you a little oddly at first, but so long as you continue to see him, he will grow used to you!"

Roy sighed and walked around his candelabra friend, falling face-first onto his large bed. He flinched a little when the door to the far side of his room opened with a creek.

"Well! I just saw off Gracia and Elysia to our guest's room!" Maes chuckled as he hopped into the room. "How are you doin', Roy? I've heard that out guest has put you off your game." Roy honestly felt like throwing his friend against the wall. Maes hopped onto the bed and settled near his head. "Aw, now come on, Roy, this isn't like you. You've never acted this way with anyone before." Roy looked up in time to see his three friends share a look.

"Leave me be." Roy growled lowly, putting his face back in his arms. When he felt the mattress dip, he looked up again. He found Riza and Jean supporting his alchemically-advanced mirror.

He had worked on the mirror for a little under a year and now it was complete, all he had to do was press his hand to the array etched on the back and think of the person he wanted to see. It was one of the only mirrors that remained un-shattered in the mansion, other than the few in the guest rooms.

"You should check on him," Jean sounded completely serious, his joking mood gone. "_You_ didn't see his face after you turned around."

Roy blinked for a moment and sat up enough to grab the mirror from them.

"You may go." The three shared a hesitant look before hopping off the bed and out the door. When he heard the door click shut, he sat up the rest of the way, mindful of his tail. He turned the mirror over slowly, glaring when he saw his own reflection. Quickly placing his hand over the array, he thought of Edward. The mirror lit up and the glass shimmered as it gave way to show the blonde's room, but no blonde. He raised his eyebrow a bit as he heard Gracia's voice.

"-now, we can't have you catching a cold, hurry and undress. Rose, dear, can you get out a pair of trousers and a shirt for him?"

"Oh, sure! He'll look so handsome in this!" She launched both on the far side of the bed. There was a changing curtain hanging nearby and metal hand reached out and grabbed the pants. Roy gasped, his eyes widening as he moved his face a little closer to the looking glass.

After a moment, Edward stepped out, adjusting his pants a little. Roy's jaw dropped when he saw Edward's chest. His entire right shoulder was covered in metal. The metal went down to the end of his ribs and across his right pectoral. Scar tissue etched all around the metal plates.

"Oh my," Gracia and Rose gasped together. Rose blinked rapidly as Gracia continued, "and you have automail! You _must_ be freezing!"

Gracia hopped onto the bed and gestured to the shirt. Edward blushed a little and picked it up. By the look on his face, Roy could tell he was surprised she just breezed past the artificial limb. He could see, from his viewpoint, Elysia hopping over to Edward. When she bumped into his left foot, she started apologizing but trailed off a bit as an echoy 'clang' was heard.

"Uh, yeah." Edward's voice seemed to glide from the mirror. "That leg's automail too." Gracia hopped to the floor and pout tea into Elysia.

"Now drink this up, we need to get you warm." Edward hesitantly picked up Elysia. She giggled when he took a sip, but quieted down when she got a look from her mother.

"What's the matter? You look a bit shocked." Rose commented as the blonde set the jumping tea cup down.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm not used to people not making a fuss over the automail," Came his reply.

"As you can probably tell, we've seen odd and odder things." The mirror's light and sound faded as Roy removed his hands.

'_So people look at him oddly as well?'_ Roy placed the mirror carefully on the bedside table. He stood slowly from the bed and made his way to where a soft pink glow -that was the bane of his existence- sat. On a small dark wood end table, was a floating, glowing red rose. It was the same rose the wicked Dante had tried to give him in exchange for his alchemy secrets. She had said it would die on his thirtieth birthday. It had been a year since the curse and the flower had barely changed. A total of five petals had fallen off of it. The moment a petal would fall away, it would lose it's glow and turn a dull red. To try and protect the flower, Roy had made a glass case that he placed over the flower.

He stood by the table and put his large hand on the casing. Closing his eyes again, he thought of Edward and said his name unconsciously, a little amazed at how easily it rolled off his tongue. Though he felt no sudden burst or tingle of warmth in his chest as he thought of the boy, but Roy hoped a little that maybe, somewhat soon, he would. He thought back on when the young man had his shirt off. However, though the automail must've pulled at his muscles, he obviously worked out. His body seemed well toned and lithe.

Roy found he couldn't wait to get to know this man better. That is, until he remembered than the no longer looked like his dashing, normal, _human_ self. _'Well, maybe it will be like Jean says, he'll grow used to my looks and accept them!...Maybe that's being too optimistic...'_

However he still could not wait until dinner when he could try again with the young blonde.


	6. Dinner is Served?

**So, here's the next chapter! Yay! **

**QuirkyMadness: Yes, it will play out for the most part the same as the orignial...but there are a few twists (which will kind of start to be revealed next chapter) aaand I added a few bits in cuz I just love Roy and Ed and that would be the reason this fic is rated M but that won't come around until later on in the story. ^w^**

**Inumimi1: Gracia is also a teapot ^w^ **

**Thank you all for all the nice reviews (you have no idea how much they inspire me!) ^w^ I've very happy so many people are enjoying this fic, it makes me excited to finish this because the ending I have in my head is just...*hearty eyes***

***coughs* well, anywho. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. (It was edited by Mii-ch4n) (- the old Meep!)**

**(PS) (There is a new Feli-chan and Meep account! It will have mine and Mii-ch4n's RP posted on it in chapters...soon. ^^)**

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><p>Edward flinched as he felt the muscles attached to his automail begin to tense and cramp. He sat back on the ridiculously large bed and lay back against the, also ridiculously large and extraordinarily fluffy, pillows. He tried to get his muscles to relax and rested his left hand on the metal shoulder, rubbing it gently.<p>

"What's the matter?" Edward jumped and winced, forgetting that most of the household objects in the mansion were alive. It had taken him a few minutes, and a lot of coaxing and them doing tricks to reassure Ed he was not crazy, and that they were indeed real. The teapot and her daughter had left the room a few minutes before to help prepare for dinner.

At the thought of food, Edward moved his hand to his stomach. The cramps in his shoulder and the starting of the ones in his leg were causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably.

"My muscles around the automail ports act up when weather gets bad or right before winter."

"Oh, well, I'm sure dinner will make you feel better." Rose chirped as she went through the clothes in the closet portion of her wardrobe self.

"Oh, I don't think-"

The door creaked open and in came the little clock that had introduced herself as Riza earlier.

"Dinner has been served, sir. The master is waiting." She did a little bow.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel well."

The clock clearly seemed shocked.

"But you must go to dinner, sir. The master told you no exceptions," she said calmly, though she was clearly shaken.

"I know, and I'd normally never turn down food, honestly. But if I were to go down to eat, I know for a fact that I'll be sick."

Riza frowned and opened her mouth to answer when Rose added in.

"His automail hurts due to the bad weather."

Riza's face twisted a little, the hands on her face pausing for a moment and shaking before the second and minute hand continued to move.

"Very well," she finally sighed. "I'll tell the master. I hope you feel better soon."

When the door closed behind Riza, Edward relaxed again against the mattress and began to massage his sore leg.

Roy paced back and forth, irritated at how long it was taking for his blonde priso-_guest_...To join him for dinner. He ignored Maes' and Jean's suggestions to make the dinner and night go more smoothly; with what to say, what not to say, what to do, what not to do and so on.

He had just turned around to pace to the next wall when the double doors opened. He quickly returned to the middle of the room only to find that it was Riza. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Sir, I'm afraid that the young sir Edward does not feel well enough to come down for dinner."

All occupants of the room braced themselves for the roar of rage they expected to come from their master.

"What do you mean." Though it should have been a question, it clearly wasn't one. "I told him no exceptions." They hadn't expected this quiet anger, and they all seemed to know that this was worse than his normal 'lash-out' anger. Roy began to stalk toward the door, slamming it open, and ignoring Riza's attempts at explaining, and stormed up the stairs to the room the blonde occupied.

Edward had gotten up a little after Riza left and locked the door. He had then limped over to the bed and began to pull back the covers. Just as he was easing himself onto the large bed, someone banged on the door loudly. Startled, Ed fell off the bed.

"You _will_ come down for dinner!" The voice of the beast keeping him there roared through the door. Rose muttered a soft 'oh, no' and tired to put herself into a corner of the room. Edward winced from his spot on the floor and glared at the door.

"I don't feel well!" Edward shouted back.

"You seem to be well enough to shout!"

"You started it!" Edward did not like that he was demanding he do something.

"You will-!" The shout was cut off and he could faintly hear angry whispers outside the door. He was slowly getting himself off the floor when the master of the house spoke quieter than before.

"Will you please join me for dinner?" Though Ed appreciated that he had finally asked, but still...

"I'm sorry, but no. I don't feel well."

Edward could hear only faint grumbling coming from the beast on the other side of the door, unable to understand what he was saying. That is until he shouted, it seemed like he especially wanted Ed to hear, "-then he can starve!"

He could hear the beast storm away from the room and down the hall.

Edward fell sideways onto the bed, frowning as he muttered, "Bastard," But he didn't bother with continuing his sentence. Instead, he crawled up to the pillows and curled up beneath the covers, quickly falling asleep.

Roy slammed the door to his room shut, however it wasn't until he sat on the bed that he realized what he had just done. He had just ruined any chance of getting to know Edward tonight.

The door creaked open and in came Maes on a cart full of food for him. He immediately began pouring tea into a cup and the sugar spoon and milk pitcher quickly followed suit. Once the cup was filled, it slowly made its way to Roy so as not to spill. Roy grumbled as he picked it up and took a sip.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maes inquired as he jumped onto the bed.

"No," Roy growled settling the cup back onto the tray. Maes motioned for the cart to move to the far side of the room. Once the tray was appropriate distance away, he said lowly. "That was rather unnecessary, sir. Riza had told you he felt ill."

"I...Didn't hear her." Roy moved a clawed hand over his face and moved the hand upward on his head.

"Right. You didn't hear her because you jumped to conclusions. You need to be patient, and you _need_ to control your temper." Roy sighed and looked at Maes, before lying back on the bed.

I know. It's just something snapped and I..." He trailed off and glared at the teapot and as he shook with laughter.

"Sorry," Maes' voice warbled. "It's just that...I'm glad you didn't actually snap. That would have been bad."

Roy smiled a little and nodded his head. "I suppose that may be the only thing I did right tonight."

Maes motioned to the cart before saying, "You need to eat, Roy, tomorrow's a new day. You can try again."

Alphonse and Winry left the house with lanterns, their dinner now cold on the table.

"Brother would never miss dinner, Winry, I'm worried."

"I know, Al, I am too." The two of them were making their way to town. "He's probably fine, maybe one of my patients took him out for drinks?" Alphonse' armored head shook.

"No, he's not friendly with anyone here, other than the bookseller. And he would have told us if he was going out."

The two of them peaked into the bar, and other still open shop windows, but they could not find their blonde friend anywhere.

"Maybe he went back to the house?" Winry suggested, clutching her coat tighter around herself. The sudden rainstorm that came earlier that afternoon still had yet to let up.

"I hope so, he's not around town at all so...Yeah, and maybe we should walk on the edge of town?" Alphonse had noted some drunken men already coming from the bar. When Winry saw them, she nodded hastily and they started their trek home. Almost halfway home, Alphonse paused in his steps as he saw something near the start of the tree line.

"Winry, wait." Winry had continued walking a few yards ahead and quickly backtracked to where Al was.

"What's the matter, did you find Ed?" Winry immediately began scanning the area for an Ed-shaped lump on the ground.

"No, but come over here." Winry did so and they both walked toward the tree line. The combination of the soft glow from their dying lanterns was enough to show that what Al had found was a package of sorts. He bent down and picked it up while Winry watched, partially worried, partially annoyed. Al picked it up and was surprised to find books inside it. The books had little water damage, due to the thickness of the wrappings. Looking at the titles of the books, Alphonse nearly dropped them; he swayed a little where he stood.

"Alphonse!" Winry quickly grabbed his armor-encased shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Winry," Alphonse started, the echoey affect of the armor making his voice sound hollow, though she could tell he was terrified. "These are the books Brother went out earlier to get."


	7. Be Our Guest

**Hello all! Sorry this is a day late! I did not feel very good last night and had gone to bed early.**

**Good news! I'm done with Driver's Ed! Now I have two more free nights a week! YAY! **

**So this is probably the longest chapter I have written so far, I hope you all enjoy it!**

**I love all the reviews I get, I'm sooo happy you like them, your reviews inspire me quite a lot, and...just thanks ^^**

**So, MARYLOVER, hehe, believe me the movie makes them get together muuuch quicker. hehe. I know it's a bit fast paced so far, but it's hopefully going to slow down a little bit...I hope ^^;**

**So, on with the chapter! ^^**

**(PS check out Mii-ch4n 's new fic!)**

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><p>Edward woke up to his stomach growling loudly about an hour later. He sat up in bed as he rubbed his eyes, and found his automail was not bothering him as much as it had before. Now, instead of a sharp pain at every movement, it was now just a dull throbbing that he could manage. He rolled back the covers and crawled out of bed, his feet softly hitting the floor. He looked around the room and found Rose, seemingly asleep in the same corner she tried to hide in earlier.<p>

As quietly as he could with his automail foot, he crossed the room to the door. Thankfully, the door did not creek too loudly when he opened it. He shivered as his flesh foot stepped off the wooden flooring of the bedroom and onto the cold marble of the hallway. He again looked around to see if anyone, or anything, animated was roaming the halls. He sighed a bit, thankful, but quickly clamped a hand over his stomach as it growled loudly, the noise echoing down the hall.

"Shh," He hissed to himself. "I'll get you food as soon as I can find some!"

And with that, he left himself to decide which way he should go. _'Hmm, well the bastard went left. Nothing is to the right except for the tower...I guess I'll have to chance going to the left.'_

He passed several doorways until he came to an opening. There was a small set of stairs going down, a landing, and two other sets of stairs. One set continued straight ahead and from Ed could see held more rooms. 

_'Did they have guests here at one point?' _He looked around the hall; there were cobwebs across the ceiling and on the chandler over the landing. There was dust covering side tables in the hall, and from the musty smell of his own room, Ed could tell it had been awhile since there had been guests here. _'And now I'm here...'_

Edward cautiously snuck down the first set of stairs in order to see where the other staircase led. He was surprised to find he was on the staircase he had seen when he had first entered the mansion. He looked across the entry hall and spotted the door. Ed bit his lip, and worried it for a moment. He could leave now, no one was around to stop him...

However, a sudden flash of lightning and clap of thunder quickly changed his mind. _'Well, there goes that plan, I don't think getting electrocuted, lost, and more than likely eaten by rabid wolves, will help me get home _or_ get food.'_ Edward thought a little sullenly as he continued down the second set of stairs. He looked around the entryway as lightning lit up the room again, and spotted two closed doors, one on each side of the staircase. The door to the left of the stairs, Edward could see light underneath.

Edward crept to the door and listened for a moment. He could hear the faint tones of Gracia, Maes, Riza, and...'_What _was_ that candelabras name?'_...

"-no _Jean_ it's not like _that_."

_'Right, Jean. I'll have to try to remember that better.'_ While he thought this, he forgot to concentrate on balancing out his weight versus the door. As a result, the door swung open and Edward teetered back and forth for a moment, swinging his arms, before crashing to the floor.

"Ow..." Edward groaned as he started to sit up, rubbing his chin.

"Oh my!" The two teapots cried as they both hopped over to Ed.

"Are you alright?"

"That was quite a fall!"

Jean stood on the floor a few feet away, chuckling into a candle. Riza, however, looked at him a bit reproachfully.

"Yes, Edward? Why have you been eavesdropping?"

"No, I didn't mean to! I just woke up,and was hungry, so I came downstairs, and I found that the light was on! I only wanted to see who was in the room before I entered!" Edward shook his head, his loose ponytail flying about behind him. He got a sheepish look on his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Um, can you point me toward the kitchen,by chance?" Riza shook her head and Edward frowned a little. Before he could ask why, she spoke.

"The master clearly told us not to feed you, seeing as how you would not join him for dinner." Edward sputtered a bit as he tried to find the words he was looking to defend himself with.

"Now, Riza, I was in there with him before the master came to the room and the boy certainly did not look well." Gracia defended him when the words failed to come. He shot her a grateful half-smile. Riza began to look a little guilty and Edward himself began to feel bad for making her uncomfortable. After all, the little clock was just doing her job.

"I suppose...We can give you something." She addressed Edward, a small frown still set on her face. "We can't very well have our guest starve."

"Thanks!" Edward immediately perked up and he smiled brightly at her.

Maes and Jean escorted Ed further into the room as Gracia left to the kitchen. Jean signaled and suddenly the room was lit. Edward found the room was quite large and at the far end of the room, there was an archway that led to another dark room. And in front of him in the lit room, was a seemingly dark wood table with what once might have been beautifully decorated chairs. However, the table had a thick layer of dust covering it and the chairs were lopsided and looked to be in need of new seat cushions.

"Ah, sorry about the dust, it's uh, been a while." Maes had hopped up onto the table, a sheepish smile on his mouth. Edward shrugged and pulled back a chair to sit down, sneezing as dust flew up around him.

"It's fine really, I don't mind." Edward made a gesture to the far archway. "What's that room?" Riza walked up beside his chair and looked up,

"That would be the ballroom. Now I'm afraid we can't get you much-"

"Oh, that's fine. I'll eat just about anything." Riza shrugged and walked off to join Gracia in the kitchen. Jean hopped up on the table and lit himself.

"So, I know the mansion isn't in the best shape right now, but what do you think of it so far?" Edward hesitated for a few moments before answering.

"Well," He paused, gathering his thoughts. "It's rather...Dark. Not just in the, 'there's no light' way, but it's the aura this place gives off." Jean and Maes both nodded at his criticism. Edward looked around the room a little, biting his lip as an uncomfortable silence settled in.

"This is probably a bad question to ask now," Maes started and waited until Edward turned and faced him. "But what do you think of R-" Jean sharply nudged the teapot and they glared at each other for a moment, before Maes continued. "of the master?"

Edward blinked, confused. When he realized who they were talking about, he frowned a little and chewed on his lower lip.

"I'm...I think..." Edward sighed as he tried again with his sentence. "Your master, to put it simply, is a bastard."

Maes and Jean broke into fits of laughter at how blunt Ed had been. Maes recovered first and nodded at the startled blonde.

"You're right; he is most of the time. However, once you get to know him, he isn't all that bad." Seeing Edward's doubtful look, he continued, "Oh, he's still a bastard, he's just more understandable and has a few more nice moments, is all." This brought a small laugh from the blonde, and the two household items shared a smile.

"Now, Edward."

"Hm?" He turned and faced the candelabra.

"The master is forcing you to stay here for your safety." Edward raised an eyebrow at this, but Jean continued on. "You mentioned being chased by wolves? Well, the master and ourselves have tried to leave the estate before, but once we get to a certain point along the path, a pack of wolves appear. The master does not believe the beasts to be normal wolves, however. The fact that you managed to get past them is a miracle in itself!" Edward blinked, a little surprised.

"So, he's keeping me here for my own good?"

"Yes. He believes that if you were to leave, the wolves would be waiting for you." Edward frowned a little, but nodded.

"I suppose that makes sense. I'm not going to stay here forever, though. I'll have to leave one of these days. But...It would have been easier for me to accept if he had explained it a bit."  
>The candelabra visibly shrugged while the teapot hopped in place a little before they simultaneously said,<p>

"He _is_ a bastard." Ed cracked a small smile and nodded with them, when the door opened and in rolled Gracia, on a cart with Riza, Elysia, and food for Ed.

Roy sat in one of the many armchairs in his library, reading a book in the dim light from a non-enchanted candelabrum. His ears perked up a little as he heard shouts coming from downstairs.

_'What in the world are they doing?'_ Roy thought warily as he replaced his book with the mirror. He closed his eyes to shield them from the bright light as he thought of who would definitely be downstairs, and he grumbled, "Gracia."

He opened his eyes as he heard _Edward's_ voice shouting,

"I'm not short, damn it!"

Roy saw Edward in the dining room, an empty bowl on the table and a tall glass of milk beside it. Edward was standing near y, his fist clenched angrily at Riza, Jean, Maes, and Gracia. His face was a bright rosy red and his eyes alight. Roy thought for a moment, that perhaps he should be upset that his servants had gone against his direct orders, but he realized that maybe he _could_ learn more about the blonde and the previous thought disappeared.

"But Edward, you certainly _are_ small for your age!" Jean teased.

"Am not!"

"Now Edward," Gracia tried to keep the giggle out of her voice. "If you would just drink the-"

"No! That stuff is vile and disgusting!" Maes was laughing so much, he was rolling back and forth on his side.

Roy was a little amazed to see a small smile sketched on Riza's face.

"Edward. Drink the milk." She said slowly, successfully keeping any form of laughter out of her voice.

"No."

Roy smirked. _'So he doesn't like milk or any derogatory comments about his height...Interesting.'_He put the mirror down and returned to his book.

Edward looked around the room after he had finally convinced the servants of the house that he did not need to drink the milk. _'I feel I should help out...'_

"Is something wrong, Edward?" Maes asked as he hopped over to where Ed was.

"Nah, I was just thinking...Maybe I could help you guys fix this place up?"

"Really?" Jean asked as he, Gracia, and Riza came over as well. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Well," Ed shrugged. "It's not like I have much else to do. And I could use a little alchemy to fix some parts-"

"Wow, you can do alchemy like the master does!" Elysia, who was still on the dining cart, exclaimed. The four on the table immediately shushed her.

"Honey, you're supposed to be sleeping." Gracia scolded.

"But Mommy, I'm not," she yawned loudly, "sleepy."

"Maes, help me put your daughter to bed. Goodnight Ed."

"Goodnight," he waved to them, and bid Riza and Jean a good night as well, as he walked back to his bedroom.

"You've done well, Envy." A feminine voice called out as said man came into the hut.

"Thank you, ma'am." He quickly bowed and went to her side.

"Everything is falling into place, perfectly."

"How can you be so sure that he'll talk to the boy, Dante?" The old woman turned to face Envy, the red stone on her necklace glowing and illuminating her face eerily.

"Because I've pulled all the strings thus far, and set everything up. The plan is foolproof. Of course, the end result will work perfectly in my favor."


	8. Fixing the Enchanted Mansion

**Hey there everyone sorry this is a day late ^^;**

**Also I hate to say it, but this story has finaly caught up to me. I've been trying to stay a chapter ahead each week, but I fell behind when got hit with some major writer's block last week. ... Also it's the strt of the holidays. So I'm still gonna tr for an update next monday, but just incase I'm not able to (and this counts in the future as well), I'll never make you wait more than two weeks for a chapter, even if it's just a quickly thrown together filler, or half of what I had panned for the chapter, something WILL be posted. **

**I just figured I should warn you all of that now. f^^**

**Also! This is where the bonding somewhat begins (how exciting!) ^w^**

**I hope you all enjoy (This was edited by Mii-ch4n, go check out her new story! (It's a funny RoyEd fic even though it says Riza is the main charcter)**

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><p>Edward got up early in the morning just as the sun came up, a few days after he had arrived at the mansion. He had fixed up some rooms with the help of servants, and surprisingly, he had yet to see or hear from the bastard that kept him here. Not that it mattered to him too much, though...He <em>did<em> want to apologize to him for his reaction, and ask him about what Elysia had said.

Not many people used alchemy anymore and books on the subject were becoming increasingly hard to find. The books he had gone to town to pick up for Al had some _very_ hard to find notes from other alchemists. Ed's heart clenched as he thought of his little brother. _'He'll be fine, hopefully he found the notes before they were ruined by the rain.'_

When Elysia had mentioned the master's use of alchemy, an interest had sparked inside him toward the master of the estate. In the new town, he and Alphonse were the only alchemists, and to meet a new alchemist...To exchange notes, ideas, theories...Just thinking about it made him excited.

Edward quickly dressed in a pair of brown slacks and a white loose button-up. He slid on his brown shoes to keep his feet from getting cold, and went out into the hall. In the past few days, a few more servants had come out; he waved to a few of them as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Gracia." Edward called out as he walked into the kitchen. Seeing Elysia hopping up and down in the sink, he waved to her ad made his way over to the teacup's mother.

"Good morning, dear. What would you like for breakfast?" She motioned for a teacup and sugar pot to come over to her. They had learned the first night of his stay, that the blonde had a very low tolerance for milk. Edward nodded his head in thanks and took a sip of the tea.

"I think I'll just have an apple today, I'm not all that hungry." He reached over to the fruit bowl and grabbed a bright red one from the pile.

"If you're sure," Gracia trailed off and instead went back to directing the washing and drying of the dishes. Ed watched the process with mild fascination, still unable to believe how they all operated as human-like as they could. As he finished his apple and began drinking his tea again, Gracia hopped back to him. "So what are your plans for today?"

Edward had been holding back on doing any work that would need a large amount of alchemic power. He had wanted to wait until he had a decent amount of his energy back. Taking another sip and closing eyes for a moment, he attempted to gauge his energy.

"I think I'll work on the piano later today, but for now I'll work on cleaning the sitting room and fixing the furniture. Then maybe the stairs in the foyer." Gracia nodded and ushered the now-empty teacup in his hand to the sink.

"Just don't tire yourself out too much, and remember to stop by for lunch later." Edward nodded and waved to the permanent kitchen staff as he headed out towards the main foyer.

He turned into the sitting room and stood in the doorway, surveying the room. Now that he could view the room in the daylight, he saw that the soft fabric of the furniture was getting to be threadbare. One of the legs of the armchair was broken and the chair was rather lopsided because of it. And the sofa was misshaped; the front legs were all broken. The room as a whole looked as though it hadn't been dusted in years; the furniture, end table, coffee table between the sofa and the fireplace, and the mantle all had a thick layer of dust covering them.  
>Edward looked off to the right side of the archway and found that Riza must've had the cart bring him both cleaning rags and a bucket of water. He dampened one of the cloths and started to wash the mantle and the other flat surfaces. Once he was done with that, he rolled up his sleeves and started washing the wooden floor. When he finished with scrubbing the wood clean, Ed tossed all of the dirty rags he had used into a pile by the bucket. He stood then, swiping his arm across his forehead, and smiled at how much better the room looked already. He then went to get the blue rug that had been hanging in another room to dry after he had washed it the day before.<p>

He set the rolled up rug on the floor, and went about moving the furniture away from the center of the room, so he could lay out the rug. Once the rug was neatly unrolled and positioned in the middle of the room, Edward moved back the tables to their proper places. He then took a look at the sofa and armchair before wandering around the mansion, looking for materials he could use to fix the furniture. He kept the water bucket and rags in the room so he could clean the chalky alchemic circles he had drawn around the furniture when he was done. He set the necessary fixing materials in their appropriate places and sighed as he settled himself near the chair.

"Here we go." He whispered to himself as he slowly pressed his hands to the circle and focused his energy towards it. The blonde shivered as he felt a good amount of his energy being sapped from him and saw the bright bluish light shine through his eyelids. He opened his eyes and smiled a little at his work before pushing it to its proper place in the room.

As he knelt down next to the other circle, he took a deep breath and did not hesitate to slam his hands down this time. He had missed the feeling of accomplishment he felt after fixing or making something successfully. As the light of the reaction faded, Edward huffed a little as he got off his knees. After he had pushed the couch back, he began to wipe the chalk off the floor.

When he stood up, he nearly fell backwards. His head felt like it was spinning from doing such large transmutations so close to each other. _'Damn,'_ Ed thought as he rubbed his forehead, squinting his eyes. _'Those took more energy than I thought they would.'_ He looked out the large window and noted the position of the sun in the sky and gnawed on his lip. _'I should probably head to the kitchen for lunch, but,'_ He looked out into the main entrance at the crooked, death trap-like steps. _'I _really_ want to work on those stairs first.'_ He stood there thinking for another moment before picking up a rag and heading out into the foyer. Once there, he went up to the top of the stairs. He drew on the top step and pressed his hands to it. The pull of his energy being fed to the circle was sharper than before, and Edward could hear himself panting after only a few moments of transmuting. Faintly over the roar of the transmutation that filled his ears, Ed could hear footsteps coming down one of the halls.

When the light faded and he opened his eyes a little, he found he could hardly see; his eyes were blurring on him. He could feel himself swaying and he tried to grab onto a step, with his right hand, but it found nothing but air. Small, black dots began appearing in his sight as his body began to pitch to the left.

"Edward!" The shout of his name and the sudden jerk of someone grabbing his arm, cleared some of his vision. He found his right cheek pressed against soft, warm fur. Looking up, he found the face of the beast. He couldn't quite tell what his expression was, though he was a bit shocked by how human-like his eyes were. Through the deep azure gaze, he could tell the beast was worried for him. "-can you hear me?" The creature shook Ed gently.

The blonde snapped out of his daze, blinking rapidly and shaking his head.

"Uh, yeah. I hear you, I think I'm alright now." The beast looked unsure, but nonetheless loosened his arms around him. Ed stood on the steps for a moment - or at least he tried to. He lost his footing and fell into the beast's ready arms.

"No, you're not." He began to guide Ed into a sitting position when Gracia hopped out from the kitchen.

"Now what's going on out here? I heard shouting." When she saw Roy hovering over Ed, the straightness of the once crooked stairs, and how pale Edward was, she managed to piece it all together. "Edward!" The blonde winced at the scolding tone in her voice. "You put too much of your energy into your alchemy!"

He could feel the dark blue eyes watching him now, with curiosity, and he shivered involuntarily.

"Yeah, I, uh, didn't think it would take so much for the stairs to be fixed."

Gracia tutted at the bottom of the stairs before her gaze snapped to her master.

"And you! Take our _guest_ to his room to rest. I'll be up with food in a bit." And with that, the teapot hopped away back to the kitchen. The two sat there on the stairs, staring at where she had been.

"I thought_ you_ were the master of this place?" Edward finally broke the silence and stared up at the other. He watched as the beast chuckled softly.

"Yes, however Gracia overpowers my words easily. She's a very scary woman when upset." The two shared a small laugh together. When Edward quieted, he looked at the beast holding him again, and was a bit astonished at how easy it was to talk to him...For the moment, at least. From what he had gathered from Maes and Jean and a little from Riza, (she didn't think it was wise to tell him much of anything) the entire household had been human at one time, and that they were under an enchantment of sorts. None of them would tell him anything further, however.

_'Perhaps I'll start being able to see the human inside him...'_ Edward's thoughts trailed off as he felt himself being lifted.

"Woah, hey!" The beast had wrapped one arm under his knees and the other around his back. He glared up at the beast's face. "Hey Bastard! I can walk just fine, you know!"

The 'bastard' chuckled at his objection.

"Yes, but I'd rather not have Gracia come after me if you were to collapse in the hall." When Edward still tried to object to his, and get out of his arms, he tightened his grip and began walking down the hall. "I'm carrying you to your room." The sentence had a note of finality to it.

Edward frowned and pouted, his golden eyes were glaring daggers at the 'bastard.' When he saw his head beginning to turn towards his, he quickly turned his head to face the hallway. Their walk was nearly silent; the exceptions were Roy's heavy footsteps and the occasional 'swish' of his tail. That is, until Roy cleared his throat.

"Mustang."

"Huh?" Edward blinked for a moment before turning to stare up at the beast with a confused expression.

"You may call me Mustang." Edward rose a questioning eyebrow before shrugging a little.

"We'll see, Bastard." Said 'bastard' growled softly under his breath, but Edward easily ignored him.

They came to a stop outside of Ed's room and he found he was a bit reluctant to leave the warmth of 'Mustang' for his surely freezing room. However, he still got down and opened the door. He stood with his back turned to the beast for a moment, before he turned his head to look behind himself.

"Why don't you come in? At least until Gracia comes." Mustang shrugged and nodded as he followed Edward into the room. The blond shivered as he walked further into the room. It was, indeed, freezing.

"Oh! Master, hello!" Rose chirped, removing herself from her little corner. He nodded at her before saying,

"Rose, one of you thickest blankets."

"Of course!"

Edward didn't pay much attention to the two; instead he went to the window and looked out. When he felt a heavy weight land on his shoulder's he jumped a little and turned.

"Can't have you be so cold. I didn't realize the summer curtains were still hanging in this room. I'll have it fixed soon."

The blonde was still shocked by the kind gesture and nodded absentmindedly as he tugged the dark brown blanket tighter around himself.

"Thanks..." he trailed off as he turned toward the window. "...Are those wolves...Normal?"

"No," Came Mustang's answer after a moment. "I don't believe so. They appear to be well-trained, and are taking orders from someone outside of here." Ed nodded and felt a little dizzy. Evidently he'd been swaying, because when Roy's paw-like hand gripped his shoulder, his world stopped spinning.

"Uh, thanks,"

"You shouldn't extend so much energy into your circles. It can't be healthy." Mustang led him over to his bed and made him sit back against the pillows.

"I can't really control it." Ed admitted softly, "The circle takes the energy it needs to work, and there's no control to it." There were a few moments of silence as Edward cuddled further into the blanket, and Mustang looked around the room. "I heard...From uh, Elysia...That you do alchemy as well." Edward was a little hesitant because he didn't want to get the teacup in trouble. He was relieved when Mustang didn't seem to be upset in the least.

"That's true," he nodded as a soft voice called from beyond the door.

"It's Gracia, and I have food." Mustang crossed the room and opened the door for her.

Realizing he was going to leave before they got very far into the conversation, Edward continued,

"Would you like to compare theories...Sometime?"

A small, almost smile-like expression drew at Mustang's lips as he stood in the doorway.

"Of course, that'd be wonderful, Edward. But for today, do try to stay in bed." Ed quickly frowned at the now-closed door.

"Bastard." The corners of his lips tugged upward a little as he whispered the word.


	9. Learning More

**So, me and Mii-ch4n(Meep) have our RP up for you all to see!**

**If you look for "The Potion Set" that is the story, it is a good story that we started a little under a year ago, and we are working on the "sequel" to it now.**

**Sorry this is late, but considering it's holiday month and my teachers hate me I was surprise I was able to come up with this, in under a week. This chapter has a bit more progression on Roy and Ed's relationship, but I'm hoping next chapter will have more to it.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Your reviews are appreciated, and help me to write, and give me ideas for chapters and what not ^w^**

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><p>"Winry, I'm going into town again!" Alphonse called out from the small entryway as he began to open the door.<p>

"Alphonse! Wait!" He was half out the door by the time Winry came out from the kitchen. "Al," She hesitated a little as she neared his armored body. "I don't think you should."

"I have to! I have to find Brother!"

"Al, I know. I want to find Ed, too! But we've asked everyone in town, and as it is, they don't...Seem to like...You."

"I know. But I can't just sit here. It's been over two weeks since we've seen him! I can't stand this anymore!"

"I know. Just wait a moment." She left the room and went back through the kitchen. When she returned to Al, she had the parcel of books in one hand and two packed traveling bags hanging from her other arm. "We should look for him outside of town. I already bought train tickets. We've ran out of leads in this town, that means he must be somewhere else, and so we should look somewhere else as well."

"...Thank you, Winry." She could hear the smile in his voice though she could not see it. He took one of the bags from Winry and held the door open for her. "We should leave now!"

Winry went to the door and Alphonse followed.

"Yes, but, Al? What do you want done with these?" She held out the parcel. However, Al just stared at it for a minute. He reluctantly took it and headed back into the house. "Where are you going now?"

"I'm putting them on his work desk." The brothers had made the basement of the house into an alchemic workshop, complete with materials, desks, and shelves full of books.

"But Al...You haven't read them yet." Al paused for a moment in the doorway.

"I know. But they were meant to be a gift for Brother...For his birthday."

"Oh Al...We'll find him before then, I'm sure of it!"

"Well, until then, they'll be on his desk."

Winry waited outside while Alphonse put the books in the basement. When he came back, they left the door unlocked, just in case Edward came back, and left to the train station to catch their train, unaware of the old woman who leaned against a tree just on the rim of the forest.

"This is going even better than I had hoped..." She turned and walked back into the depths of the forest.

Another week and a half passed and Edward had slowly gone around the mansion, doing a maximum of two transmutations a day. He fixed all the rooms in his hall as well as the hall itself in that time.

He had yet to see Mustang since the day he had been carried to his room. He had fallen asleep shortly after he had eaten, and when he woke up, he found he wasn't clutching at his blankets like he had other nights. Instead, he was comfortably warm, still cuddled underneath the blanket from Mustang. The beast had had his bright yellow curtains replaced by a dark red; it even looked thicker than the other one from where he was.

He bit his lip as he wandered down the hall towards the staircases. He didn't know what he could work on anymore. He had finished much of the downstairs, (he'd need his full strength for fixing the ballroom's cracked, dull and splintered wooden floor), the Eastern wing was fixed (except for the tower, he didn't like it up there and was afraid he'd somehow lock himself in the dungeon-like room), and now he had no clue what to do. He could always work on the West Wing, but Mustang had said not to...Though he_ was_ awfully curious as to why.

Edward looked over the stair railing and down to the foyer below, satisfied when he found that there was no one there. Slowly, he crept down the steps of the East Wing, and over to the first step of the West Wing. He paused again, this time he looked not just over the railing, but behind him; down the hall he had just come from, and then ahead to the hall he was about to enter.

He had just gotten up the three steps when out of the shadowy darkness, walked Mustang. Edward jumped back in shock and teetered on the top of the third stair. Strong, black-furred arms wrapped around him, and he was kept in that partially suspended in midair pose for a few moments.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Edward could practically hear the smug laughter in his voice.

"Bastard," Ed muttered once he was evenly back on his own two feet. He looked up at Mustang and found his dark blue eyes were narrowed slightly.

"What were you doing?" A slight blush spread across the bridge of Ed's nose.

"Uh, well. You see, I had wanted to check these stairs to see if they creaked," Ed stepped on one of the steps, and pretended to listen. He then looked up at Mustang again and shrugged. "Guess they're fine. No work to be done, eheheh." An awkward silence fell between the two as the beast's eyebrow rose disbelievingly. "Uh, well, I'm just going to head for the kitchen now and grab some lunch. I'll see you lat-"

"Why don't we go together?" I was on my way there anyway." He put his hand to the small of Edward's back and gently guided him down the West Wing stairs and the main stairs. Edward sighed and let himself be guided. It wasn't as though he was going to be able to go up and explore anytime soon.

When the two of them walked into the kitchen together, the entire staff froze, staring at them. Edward didn't understand why, but before he could question it, he heard a soft growl come from Mustang's throat, as he stepped a little ways away from Ed. At once, the kitchen was bustling with activity again, and Gracia hopped up to them.

"Good afternoon, sirs. What can I get you for lunch?"

Ed glanced at Mustang from the corner of his eye, and found he was looking between himself and the teapot, a confused expression on his face. Edward thought to himself a moment, trying to think of something that they both could eat, and could possibly like...Though neither of them had any knowledge as to what the other liked.

"Stew!" Little Elysia shouted as she hopped over to them. As Gracia turned to scold her daughter for startling them all, Mustang and Edward shared a glance, the corner of Ed's lips quirked up a little and he gave a slight shrug.

"Stew sounds good." Mustang nodded to the mother and daughter and walked out of the kitchen. Edward stayed a moment, confused at Mustang's lack of manners. The teapot seemed to shrug back at him.

"Well, thanks." He sent a smile to her and backed out of the room and back into the foyer. He looked around the room for a moment, before figuring that the bastard had gone into the dining room. "You know, you could be a bit nicer to them. They don't have to serve you." Edward stated as he entered the room. The creature shrugged at Ed and grumbled something unintelligible. The blonde shook his head and sat down off to the right of the head of the table. Edward looked up after a moment, when the beast did not sit as well. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all." He had had a thoughtful look in his eyes, before he shook his head and sat at the head of the table. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two, and Ed was left to look around the room, trying to come up with _something_ to say. Edward was so focused, that when Mustang cleared his throat, he visibly jumped. "Perhaps after lunch we could share our theories on alchemy?"

Edward's eyes widened and his lips spread into a bright smile. The only other person he had ever shared his ideas with was his brother. And while Alphonse was helpful, he was also rather biased and not as helpful as Ed would like with telling him when he was wrong.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Both men visibly relaxed into their seats just as Gracia and the cart came in with their stew.

"Things are progressing even better than I had hoped they would." Dante murmured.

"What do you mean, Dante?" Envy grumbled as he got off the table he'd perched himself on and made his way to Dante.

"Our little Edward will soon be able to gather the information I need from Mustang."

"But, what if Mustang shares the information with Edward _and_," Envy growled out the last bit of his sentence, "falls in love with my Edward and breaks the enchantment?"

Dante crackled at this.

"The two won't fall in love. They may become friends, but I'm more than positive Roy won't be able to handle how curious the Elric boy can be. And once I get the information I need out of the boy, you can have him to do what you will with."

A dark smile was share between the two.


	10. Musings

**So sorry for the long wait, but I have good news! My writers block is gone (er, you didn't know I had one, but I did, it was horrible and it lasted a whoole week! (I think it was cuz it was the week before winter break)) But now I have several oneshots that shall be posted (sooner than later)!**

**Next chapter is one of the ones I keep going over in my mind and is hopefully going to be fairly easy for me to write (and fun too)**

**I hope you will all enjoy this chapter, and thank you for your reviews!**

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the delay!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"Have you seen those two lately? Things are going great!" Jean declared as he hopped into the kitchen.<p>

"Keep it down, Jean. You know that Roy has heightened hearing now." Riza scolded from the counter where she and Gracia had been talking previously.

"Sorry, it's just exciting! We'll all be human again soon, and-"

"Jean, we've talked about this before." Riza interjected gently. "It's going to take more than just a few days for them to become _friends_, let alone fall in _love_." Gracia hopped over to Jean.

"We'll just all have to be patient a little while longer." She said with a comforting tone.

"I'm not sure how much longer we will have to wait!" Maes declared as he hopped into the kitchen as well. The three who were already present shushed him. "Yeah, yeah, I know, superior hearing. But Edward is clearly fascinating Roy. The boy is more than just a pretty face."

"Yeah, that's part of what I came into tell you ladies! The kid has lots of theories and the two of them keep challenging each other over them!" Jean exclaimed. Riza and Gracia shared a thoughtful look.

"They _have_ been working together for the past few days..." Riza murmured. Gracia shook herself and said,

"It will still take time for love to develop. It _is_ promising that Edward is willing to argue with Roy, and is not afraid of him."

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait this out, and see how things go." Jean shrugged. The others nodded in agreement, and went back to doing their work.

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><p>Roy was happy for an excuse to openly stare at the young blonde in front of him. And said blonde was currently explaining a theorem of his to Roy, quite animatedly.<p>

His eyes were wide and there was this joy in them, his golden irises alight. He had, at some point, pulled his hair from a ponytail into a loose bun that his golden locks seemed to be intent on defying. He was pointing to different papers with an assortment of circles on them, and locking his eyes with Roy's frequently. That in itself was a miracle to the man-turned-beast. How with no hesitation, Edward looked at him, talked to him, and listened intently when he spoke. _Willingly._ The blonde seemed to be able to completely ignore his furry and animal-like appearance and have a civil conversation with him.

Not only was the Elric easy on the eyes, but _very_ knowledgeable as well. This too was a miracle for Roy, for not even his closest friends within his manor understood much of alchemy. They had sat there and listened to him rant and rave over his findings when he had them, but they never added any valuable input or criticism.

Roy had yet to share his own theories with Edward over the past three days. Part of him was admittedly nervous at the prospect of sharing them when he was the only actual alchemist that reviewed them. Another part was afraid of how Edward would react once he knew of his knowledge of flame alchemy, and what if the blonde found that there was more in his flame alchemy? The darker secrets of alchemy in general that he had encrypted into his notes. Or would he take the notes as they were, and remain as he was now? Inquisitive and trying to help him find and remove any and all flaws.

Roy jumped a little when a hand was waved in front of his face.

"You alright? You were spacing out pretty badly there." Edward's voice was lower than it had been before, and concern for the beast shone in his eyes. Nodding Roy felt the corners of his misshapen lips lift ever so slightly.

"Yes, I'm alright." He quickly wracked his mind for the last thing he remembered the blonde saying. "I was just wondering, what would happen if you applied..."

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><p>Edward watched Mustang as he tried to expand one of his theories and look more into it.<p>

Now that he was closer to the beast, he could see the distinctions between the man and the beast. Edward guessed the Bastard was approximately twice his actual human size, and perhaps his height was the only thing that remained the same...About a head or so taller than Edward himself.

His hands, which were picking up papers now to find formulas, were bigger than his own. Edward estimated that Mustang's palm was twice the size of his own. He also noted that the palms of his hands and the pads of his fingers seemed to be fur less, but the skin there was a pale gray. His arms were covered in think, soft black fur that also covered his chest and descended lower...A faint blush grew on the bridge of his nose as he tried to at least somewhat get his mind back on track. Mustang was also obviously strong, being able to hold Ed up, two metal limbs and all.

'_His muscles must be hidden beneath all that fur.'_ Edward though silently.

His gaze continued upward (not down because he didn't want his face to get any redder), and settled on Mustang's face. The fur was both thicker and darker around his head, but the fur on the beast's face was thinner and lighter. His ears which occasionally twitched were small and almost dog-like. The fur on them was dark, but thin. (Ed often had to stop himself from reaching out to touch those little ears). His face must have been morphed in the enchantment, because the area around his mouth and nose vaguely represented a muzzle. His lips were black, and a little misshapen, with small fangs from his lower jaw poking out, ever so slightly.

The deep blue of his eyes were what drew Edward in. They were his first indication that there was a human within the beast. The beast's face did not seem to display his emotions well, or Edward just didn't know him well enough yet. However his eyes showed exactly what he was feeling, and at times Edward found himself getting lost in them, more often than he'd care to admit.

Edward could not tell if Mustang's voice was really as deep and scratchy as it sounded at times, he believed that his voice has been distorted in the transformation. But if he concentrated hard enough, Edward could faintly hear a smoother, silkier voice mixed in.

"Uh, Mustang?" Edward interrupted, as he became aware of something.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to share your theories?" At what Edward thought was a look of confusion, he explained. "Well over the past few days, all we've done is look over my theories. I figure that that's not quite fair to you. Equivalent Exchange and all..."

A soft rumbling, reminiscent of a laugh, came from Mustang as he nodded.

"Alright, we can take a look into mine tomorrow, seeing as it's so late." They both looked out at the dark sky. "The day certainly passed quickly."

Edward nodded as he started to pick up the papers, and sort them.

"What's your alchemy based on?"

"Fire." Edward froze just as he was about to pick up another paper, Mustang noticed and asked, "Something wrong?"

Edward snatched the paper and shook himself a little, before turning back to Mustang, an all too bright smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired it all." Mustang nodded, though Ed could tell he had not been convinced. "Well, I'm just going to head to my room now. Be up early tomorrow, got it?" The beast nodded again, still staring at the blonde, unnerving him. "Well...Night!" The younger alchemist practically ran for the stairs.

Once in his room and on his bed, he put his head in his left hand and stared at the right.

"It was years ago," He murmured softly to himself, "I thought I was over it..."

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><p>Envy came back from the village and found Dante laughing merrily.<p>

"What's with the sudden change in attitude, Ma'am?"

"The Elric boy! He may just be able to get that Mustang to crack! And so much sooner than I had expected!"

"So, soon, I'll be able to go and fetch Edward?" His mistress's excitement as well as the thought of having the small alchemist to himself at last getting to him.

"Yes, Envy, dear. Very soon."


	11. The Rose, the Beast, and the Fire

**Hey, sooo sorry this took so long, but I was sick earlier this week, and I've been workin' on the next chapter...and I just remembered I didn't post this yet.**

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><p>Edward sat on his bed, staring at the inanimated clock on his bedside table, irritatedly. The hands of the clock seemed to be turning slower and slower the longer he watched.<p>

It was eight-thirty in the morning and he desperately wanted to discuss Mustang's alchemy with the beast. Ed figured he needed to learn more about fire in order to conquer his fear of it. And he was determined to be rid of his fear (or at the very least be a step closer to doing so) today. However, he knew from the past few days, that Mustang would not leave the west wing until nine o'clock to go down to breakfast.

Edward had been up since seven and had dressed himself in an outfit laid out by Rose: an off-white button up and brown slacks. He had put on his shoes, washed his face, brushed his hair and put it up in a ponytail (eight times). He had paced the room until Rose asked him to stop, because she was somehow getting dizzy. This all took place until eight. And so, for the past half hour, Ed had done nothing except stare blankly at the clock, willing it to go faster.

At eight thirty five (and fifteen seconds), the blonde stood up quickly and strode to the door.

"Where are you going? You're not going to bug the master, are you?" Rose asked worriedly from her corner.

"No, I'm not," He sighed exasperatedly as he turned the door handle. "I'm going to the kitchen for breakfast."

'_Forget eating with the Bastard._' Edward thought as he stalked toward the main stair. _'Maybe eating will kill some time?'_ Ed could only hope it would.

When he reached the kitchen, he found the staff busily working away.

"Oh, Ed! You're in here early!" Jean called from the far counter.

"I thought you had taken to eating with 'the Bastard'?" Maes chuckled as he hopped off the stove where he had been warming up. Gracia was right behind him, scowling darkly.

"Maes, darling. Your child and the other teacups are present." She growled out lowly.

"Oh, sorry, honey." Maes muttered as his porcelain face colored a little. Gracia sighed and sent a motherly glare at the giggling teacups and made her way over to them.

"Yeah," Edward chuckled into his hand. "But, I'm hungry now, and the Bas-" a quick glare from Gracia made him change his words, "and _Mustang_, isn't down here yet, so...What's for breakfast?"

"Well, we just started the pancake batter..." Jean started hesitantly.

"And...?" Ed was confused as to why the candelabra would be hesitant.

"Well, it'll be a little while -probably around fifteen or twenty minutes or so- that they should all be done..."

"Around the time that Mustang will be down?" Edward finished with a grimace.

"Yeah, sorry about that..." Jean rubbed his two candle hands together.

"Nah, it's fine." Edward shrugged, slowly beginning to back out of the kitchen as a plan formed in his head. "I'll just go and find him, he _did_ say he would be up early."

"Okay!" Jean had already gone back to directing, and wasn't quite paying attention. "See you and the Master in a little while."

Edward grumbled softly on his way out at Jean's use of the word 'little'. Once he was out of the kitchen, however, he smirked to himself.

'_So because the Bastard has yet to appear,_' Edward thought to himself as he began to climb the first set of stairs. '_and after I specifically told him to be ready early, that means I'll just have to go and get him._' The blonde made his way over to the Western staircase and quickly made his way to the start of the West wing's hall. He paused for a moment, looking behind him to check if any of the enchanted objects had followed him.

Seeing no movement, he inched his way down the hall. At first, he could hardly see his own hand in front of his face as he slowly made his way down the dark hall. However as his eyes began to adjust, he stopped every few paces to examine the hanging framed pictures on the walls.

There was one of a group of people, a man with glasses hugging a rather pregnant woman close; a man with light hair, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, stood a little ways away from the couple beside a light haired woman who seemed to have been in the middle of scolding the man when the picture was taken. And in between both couples stood another man. Ed could make out a faint smirk and dark hair, but the other facial features seemed to be blurred.

As he walked he found other pictures hanging of each person within the group picture, by themselves or with another. However, none of the following photos had featured the single man within them.

He froze when he heard a sudden crackling sound. Looking down he saw that he had stepped on an already broken picture frame. Kneeling down, but being sure to glance down the hall, just in case the beast had heard him, he picked up some of the larger pieces of glass. Edward was surprised to find that not only the wooden frame and glass had been broken, but the photograph within was shredded as well.

'_Why would all the other pictures be intact except for this one?_' Ed thought to himself as he brushed the glass away with his automail hand and slowly began to move some of the pieces of the picture together. He managed to vaguely get the dark hair together, at least to the best of his ability. When he got too frustrated, he moved on to the section just after the hair. As he pieced the man's eyes together, he felt a shock pass through his body. The eyes were so familiar, so blue, so dark...So much like the Bastard's...

"Mustang..." Edward whispered softly. He jumped when he heard a door close further down the hall, and he quickly scattered what he had done and stood. When he saw nothing in the hall, he figured it had just been his mind playing tricks on him. Ed crept down the rest of the hall, until he came across a room at the end, with its door opened halfway. Ed smiled as he pressed himself to the door.

"Oh, Bastard! Time to wa-" His voice broke off as he saw the state of the room.

The bed curtains were in shreds and there was broken glass and empty mirror frames throughout the room. The far wall had glass doors that led to a balcony, showing the pouring rain and the dark grey clouds that accompanied it. But what caught his attention the most was a faint glowing coming from the far corner of the room.

In a trance-like state, he crossed the room and made his way over to the glowing object, careful not to step on the glass on the floor. It was a red rose, hovering over a dark wood table, and encased in a glass dome. The light that surrounded the rose was pink and seemed to be centered mainly around the flower, though the green thorny stem held a fainter glow. There were several maroon shaded petals below the floating stem.

Amazed, Edward put his hands on the glass dome and carefully lifted it up and set it aside.

'_Flowers...Shouldn_'_t...Float..._' Was the only thought that ran through the blonde's head, though it was soon followed by, '_Or glow..._' He shook his head to clear it, before brainstorming for anything that could possibly cause a rose to do such a thing.

He had just risen his flesh hand to touch one of the outer petals, when he froze; hearing a threatening growl coming from behind him. Before he could lower his hand, or turn around, he felt harsh gusts of air against the back of his neck, and a large hand tightly gripping his wrist.

"What do you think you were doing?" The beast growled, low and threatening, he tugged roughly on Edward's wrist, forcing the blonde to face him.

"I-I was just looking-"

"No, you were about to _touch_ it! Do you know what you could have done?" Mustang shouted. Edward found himself shaking a little as he saw the raw fury in the beast's glittering eyes. He couldn't form a proper sentence in his head, let alone aloud, and this seemed to anger the beast more.

"Get out." The beast's fur began to stick up around his neck and on his back. He shoved Edward away from him, making the blonde trip and fall against the nearby wall. Mustang hurriedly covered the rose and sent a combination of a menacing glare and growl in Ed's direction. Edward used the wall for support as he stood up shakily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any har-" The beast moved, too fast for Ed's eyes to follow, to a bedside table, as the blonde hurriedly spoke. He picked it up and swung it at the younger shouting,

"I said, get _out!_"

Edward ducked down to avoid the table, but flinched as it shattered against the wall where he had stood. He winced when he felt some of the falling material cut his cheek. He rose a hand to it and his eyes widened a little at the blood he found. He looked up and around for the wild beast who had been across the room only a few moments ago. Edward's eyes were wide with fear as he tried to take in everything that had happened in the past few minutes, and his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a movement, and his head turned sharply to the right as he faintly heard a snap. Edward's heart stopped at what he saw coming towards him.

_Fire._

It was coming towards him, and he knew he should run, move, duck, _something._ However his body was frozen as his mind went numb.

What felt to Edward like hours was only mere seconds as at the last moment he ducked and rolled out of the way, unconscious of his body's actions as his legs made him get up and run from the room.

He sprinted down the hall vaguely aware of his surroundings, when he flung himself down the stairs and saw the servants at the bottom of the stair, looking as terrified as he felt. Edward didn't stop to talk or explain, but instead ran past them and out of the manor. He paused for a moment as a gust of cold wind and rain pelted against him. He considered going back inside for a coat, but then he heard this animalistic roar tear through the air, and vision of flames came up before his eyes.

Edward turned and ran for the estate gate. He could not stay here, not any longer. Not with the beast as angry as he was, and certainly not when he could manipulate fire so easily.

The memories of the accident from ten years ago plagued Edward's mind, making him run further into the woods and forget the dangers that were held within them.

* * *

><p>Dante sighed sadly as she lowered her hands from her red gem necklace.<p>

"What's wrong?" Envy asked as he approached his mistress.

"Our little Elric has failed us, dear." She sighed again. "Such a shame, he got so far..." Shaking her head as though to rid her of her attachment to the blonde's value, she rose her hands to the necklace again.

It glowed brightly and then dulled as she thought of her wolves in the woods and murmured, "Kill Edward Elric."


	12. Searching

**Soooo sorry this took so long! I've had all these school project deadlines zooming past me, and another two fanfics that I'm writing and another that I just finished typing.**

**One of the ones that I am writing is the next bit in "Broke it in Half"**

**and the other is a continuation of "Baby Maybe"**

**the other should be posted sometime tomorrow or the next day, depending on when I can think of a good title for it.**

**Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites, and alerts! (I love seeing them in my (e)mailbox!**

**Hopefully Chapter 12 won't be too long in the making...**

**I hope you all will enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Roy fell to his knees, breathing heavily. As the scent of smoke filtered through his nose, he covered his face with his hands.<p>

"Shit."

He hadn't realized he had _actually_ snapped at the blonde. Through the cracks of his fingers, he saw splintered, smoldering wood against the wall. He also hadn't realized he had thrown his bedside table at the younger man.

Roy stiffened as another scent filtered by his nose. Smelling of a tangy iron...And Edward...He moved closer to the flaming table and extinguished it with another snap. On the floor, just before the table was where the scent was the strongest. Kneeling down, Roy saw a small puddle of the red liquid that he had smelt from across the room.  
>Technically, it wasn't much, and he shouldn't have been able to smell it from across the room the way he did...But maybe, because it was Edward's blood, that was why he could -<p>

It was _Edward_'_s_ blood. It was Edward's _blood._

Roy grabbed at the fur on his head as he realized just what he had done. He had actually _hurt_ Edward. '_He moved, though. He ducked!_' And yet he still had gotten hurt, and Roy was the cause.

'_He_'_s the one who almost disrupted the rose!_' A defiant voice within him shouted.

'_But he was curious...You know you would have done the same._' A quieter voice spoke up, in Edward's defense.

'_It doesn_'_t matter what he would have done! The kid shouldn_'_t have even been in this room, let alone this side of the manor!_'

'_Perhaps if you hadn_'_t have kept it a secret, had told him everything thing from the beginning-_'

'_That would not have helped at all! He would have ran from this house sooner! The boy should just learn to respect the privacy of others!_'

'_Oh, like_/i youi_did when _you_ used the mirror?_'

'_What_'_s_i/thati_got to do with anything?_'

'_He was changing his _clothes_!_' The peaceful second voice was beginning to sound fairly irritated now.

Roy gripped his head tighter, shook his head and let out a roar out of frustration with himself.

He took deep breaths to calm himself down, and blocked out the two arguing voices in his mind. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and blinked to readjust to the lighting of the room.

'_I have to find him._' The thought hit him hard. He quickly stood and stumbled out of the room and down the hall. As he turned to go down the stairs, he saw that Maes and Gracia had just made it to the top of the stairs.

"What the hell did you do?" Maes shouted angrily when he saw Roy. The beast slowed and panted.

"He was in my room, he almost touched the rose..." His words sounded pathetic to his own ears and did nothing to calm his old friend down.

"I didn't ask what _he_ did, I asked what _you_ did." Maes growled and Gracia hopped up beside him.

"The poor boy looked absolutely terrified when he ran past us!" Gracia's and Maes' frowns were both dark and threatening to Roy.

"You know where he went?" Roy eyes widened as he tried to look for the blonde over the landing.

"No. We don't. Riza and Jean are out looking for him. Now, answer us!" Maes demanded.

"I..." Roy's voice caught in his throat as he looked down at the two teapots. He averted his eyes from them and looked at a spot on the floor. "I snapped at him."

Gracia stared up at him confused, not quite understanding. It only took Maes a moment to realize that Ed just wouldn't run if Roy were to simply yell.

"You _actually_ snapped at him!" Maes's voice was low and aghast. Gracia gasped as she too figured out what Roy had done.

Roy hung his head low, feeling more and more ashamed of himself the longer they glared.

"Well," Gracia huffed briskly. "What's done is done." Roy opened his mouth to say something, but the teapot turned away. "We have to find Ed. He's sure to be somewhere on the property."

"The weather has already taken a turn for the worst since he ran outside. Riza and Jean are searching outside. Gracia, keep the food warm, he's going to need to warm up fast. Before you go, tell Rose to set out warm clothes for him." Maes took charge and Gracia left to do as he said. Turning to Roy, he continued his orders, "You need to get outside with that nose of yours, before his scent gets washed away, and find him. And _apologize._ _Profusely._ And if he won't come with you, then go find Riza or Jean and get them to convince Ed to come inside. I'll look for him around the mansion, in case he came back in." When Roy didn't move to go fulfill his orders, Maes hopped closer.

"Listen, Roy, we need to find the kid-"

"I hurt him, Maes." Roy's grumbling voice broke. "He won't come near me, I can guarantee it."

"Roy," Maes' voice was softer now, and a tad more comforting. "This is hard, and I know it looks bad, and you may have just demolished all the progress you've made with him. But Roy, he needs i_someone_. /i He's more than likely out there, scared out of his wits. Edward needs to be found."

At what his teapot of a best friend said, Roy could feel something inside himself thrum and grow. He nodded to Maes and sprinted down the stairs and out the main door. He sniffed lightly and only caught the barest trace of Edward's scent lingering on the first few steps. The rain which had been a sprinkle fifteen minutes ago was a complete downpour now. Breathing deeper, Roy began his search for the young blonde's scent (and the blonde himself) on his estate.

Roy paused for a moment, trying to think of were Edward would go. '_He wouldn_'_t leave the estate; he wouldn_'_t go beyond the fences...He knows about the wolves, so he wouldn_'_t go out there._' Roy began his search in the garden in the back of the mansion first. Nothing but the scent of flowers filled his sensitive nose. Giving up on garden, he started looking through the bushes around the mansion itself. Still nothing.

Roy spent the rest of the day searching the perimeter of his property along the fences. He ignored Riza's attempts to get him to go back inside, just for a little while. To dry off, warm up, put on a warmer cloak, eat something. But he refused, and told her he would not return until he had found Edward.

"Sir," Jean called as he hopped with difficulty through the mud to get to Roy. The beast stopped his searching and walked to meet the candelabra. "Sir, it is nearly supper time, is there still no luck?"  
>Roy shook his head, growling and spraying Jean with the water that had collected on his fur. Jean winced a little at the water, but couldn't really feel it.<p>

"I can't find him, I can't smell him, and I can't see him! It's almost like he isn't on the property!" Roy shouted frustratedly grabbing at the fur on his head.

"Well, sir." At the sudden movement of Roy's arms, Jean stumbled on his words, afraid that Roy might accidentally hit him. "Never mind, it was nothing, just a thought!" But when he stopped wincing and cowering, he saw that his old friend had a purely hopeless look on his face. This unnerved Jean; Roy was never like this, and he did not like seeing the man - er, beast, like this.

"Perhaps," Jean began again, "Edward is no longer _on_ the estate?"

"What do you mean? You think he went into the forest?" Roy shook his head, and began to pace. "No, he wouldn't do that, he knows of the wolves and other dangers that live out there."

"But, sir, he was terrified when he ran past us, perhaps he wasn't in the right state of mind, and forgot?"  
>Roy paused in his pacing for a moment, bit his upper lip and nodded with an uneasy look on his face. He could feel dread pooling in the pit of his stomach, making him feel sick.<p>

"Perhaps he ran back inside when we weren't looking, crawled through a window, hiding in a wardrobe, never actually left the mansion in the first place?" Roy sprouted off any and all of his ideas; he didn't want to believe Edward had truly left.

"No sir, we saw him go directly out the front door. We have servants watching every possible entrance, and other servants who have looked in every closet, behind and under every piece of furniture, and even between sheets. He is not in the manor."

As if to add onto Roy's mounting horror, a lone wolf's howl pierced the air. That wolf was joined by a chorus of others and it made Roy's blood run cold.

'_Those are the howls of wolves on the hunt, when they_'_ve spotted their prey. And Edward is out there..._' Both Jean and Roy looked at each other for a moment before the beast tore off to the entrance gate.


	13. The Attack of the Wolves

**Tada! Here is chapter 12!**

**Sorry about the wait with the cliffhanger.**

**So I hope you will all enjoy this, thank you so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! I love them all!**

**The next chapter will hopefully be out fairly soon. And watch for new fics, there should be a sequel to 'Baby Maybe' being posted soon, and a few other one shots!**

**Hope you enjoy!~**

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><p>Edward stumbled over an overgrown root and landed face-first in the mud. He had stopped running long ago, instead opting for a confused, slow walk through the never-changing forest. Pushing himself up off the ground, he looked around again. All the trees looked <em>exactly<em> the same. It was raining hard now and the rain had erased his footsteps, so he could not tell if he had been wandering in circles all day or had made progress and was at least somewhat closer to town. Also, what little light Edward had had was disappearing as night quickly settled in.

Shivering, Ed leaned heavily against a tree trunk and winced as yet another memory of the crash flashed before his eyes.

"Stop, please stop." Edward moaned quietly as he pressed his fists against his eyes, trying to block or distort the horrifying images. He could see the car suddenly erupting into flames. Alphonse and his mother jumping from the car. He could see and feel himself struggling with his seat belt as the flames spread around him. "No more, please."

Ed's eyes shot open as he heard his mother's screams of pain echo in his ears. Clasping his hands over his ears, he looked around wildly, panting heavily. When he did not see a fiery metal contraption that was once a car, or his mother lying dead beside him, he lowered his hands slowly. As he took deep breaths to calm himself down, he heard wolves howling. He frowned, remembering his encounter with the monsters weeks ago, but figured that they sounded far enough away.

He'd been having flashbacks of exactly what happened the day of the crash ever since Mustang had snapped and sent fire hurtling towards him. They came in flashes, varying in length, but often left him immobile as he relived his terror from that day.

Pushing himself away from the tree trunk, Edward began walking again. He wrapped his arms around himself and coughed a little when he laughed at himself. He'd get no warmth form his metal hand; if anything, he was merely making himself colder.

_'I should have gone back in for my coat.'_ Edward thought grimly to himself as he sloshed through the mud. He grabbed his stomach as it growled and gurgled unhappily. _'Some food would've been a good idea, too._' He hadn't even eaten _breakfast_ and it was probably dinnertime.

_'I could have sworn that there had been a path leading to the manor. And I know I started running down the same path so,_' Ed stopped for a second and looked around. _'Where am I?'_

Ed jumped as he heard a branch snap, and spun around. He was a little disappointed to find no one there. He then shook his head and scowled at himself. _'Why would Mustang come after me? He clearly wanted me gone.'_ Edward turned back around and trudged in the direction he hoped was toward the town. _'I can't even consider going back and asking for help. He'd probably come after me again with that fire.' _The blonde alchemist froze as he heard a low deep growling behind him. Part of him was overjoyed, Mustang _had_ followed him! And another part was worried Mustang had followed him only to continue the chase.

But when he turned his head, all he saw in the dark were a pair of glowing red eyes staring back at him. Just then the growling multiplied and the sound moved through Ed, paralyzing him. _'The wolves weren't as far off as I had thought,'_ Edward slowly turned in a circle as he saw what seemed to him like millions of glowing, menacing red eyes.

"Oh, no." Ed gasped as he could feel a sudden burning phantom pain come from both his right arm and left leg. Another flashback was on its way and he was helpless to stop it or the pack of wolves that was ready to attack.

~/~/~

Roy ran through the forest, thankful for his advanced night vision, following the wolves' howls until they stopped. And when they stopped, he began to inhale deeply, hoping to at the very least catch their fresh scent and follow them, and he took off again. He couldn't let them hurt Edward, even if the blonde hated him for what he had done, he couldn't let him be hurt any more than already was.

His inner beast was burning within him, unwilling to let him rest. The need to find Ed was like a fire rushing through his veins. He paused to inhale again, his heart leaped as Edward's scent filtered through his nose. But as he took another breath, he could still smell his blood and the sharp scent of his fear. The wolves had found him. He moved stealthily closer, hearing the predatory growls of the wolves. Then he heard Edward's voice, the quietest he'd heard it, whisper a pained, "Oh, no."  
>Roy got to the scene just as the blonde grabbed at his right shoulder as his legs gave out under him. The moment his knees hit the ground, the wolves leaped into action. Inside of Roy, his inner beast roared with rage which Roy was all too happy to express aloud. Some of the wolves turned from the blonde as Roy's fur stood on end and he bared his teeth at them. Roy ran toward them and counted ten wolves in all.<p>

One wolf was already on Edward, biting at his right arm, while the blonde just stared off in, a look of horror in his eyes. Roy charged at that one first and threw him off the young alchemist and into a tree. The beast looked down at Edward to be sure he was alright, though he knew the wolf had only gone after automail. He saw golden eyes staring up at him, watching him warily. Their eye contact was broken as another wolf jumped onto Roy. He wrestled with it and tossed it off of himself and turned to see Edward now clutching his head, unaware of two other wolves that were quickly advancing on him.

"Edward!" His voice as loud and it startled the younger man, but not enough for him to move. Roy ran to him and one of the two wolves backed off for the time being. The other jumped at Roy and latched onto his arm, its teeth sinking deep into his flesh. He shook the animal off, making the wound worse, and growled threateningly at the remaining seven as he stood protectively beside their blond target.

"Fire, everywhere." The small man beside him clutched at his automail as he muttered, "it hurts."

Though Roy could hardly hear him over the snarling wolves, an idea began to form from what he had said. Though from Edward's reaction earlier that morning, he knew the blonde was terrified of it. However there was little comfort he could give as the three wolves he had thrown off joined into the circle the others had formed around the two alchemists.

Roy thought over his options, limited as they were, and knew he would have to use his alchemy despite Edward being so close. He glanced away from the circling predators for a moment to look at Edward. He was a pale white, and soaked to the bone, shaking terribly. The wolves began to close in on their circle as Roy knelt down and wrapped his injured arm around the blonde's shoulders and drew him to his chest. Edward made a muffled sound of protest at being pushed into Roy's fur, but the beast kept him there; his arm against Edward's back and his hand holding the back of his head.

"Hold still, Edward." He extended his other arm and snapped, feeling the blonde jump against him and grab onto his damp fur. Warmth flared around the two as Roy controlled the flame, killing the bloodthirsty wolves. The adrenaline that had rushed through his veins faded away as the rain continued to pour. His arm began to sting as the water repeatedly hit his open wound, but he kept quiet about the pain, not wanting Edward to know about it.

"B-Bastard?" Roy looked down, into tired, sad yellow eyes, his fists clenched at his wet fur a bit painfully, but Roy didn't voice his complaint as the blonde continued, "T-thanks." The beast nodded, and noted how scratchy Edward's voice was. His hand moved from the back of his head to his cut cheek and ever so slowly, he moved his thumb over it. Edward winced a little, but kept his eyes locked with Roy's.

"You've probably already gotten yourself sick, let's get you back to the manor." His rough voice broke Edward's trance and the blonde nodded warily.

"We've got a _long_ walk back." Exhaustion saturated his voice as he leaned more into Roy's chest. Roy blinked confused.

"Edward, we aren't that far from the mansion."

"But," Edward raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "I've been walking in one direction all day..." Edward trailed off as his face scrunched up. Right as Roy was about to ask what was wrong, Edward sneezed.

"Let's figure this out after we get back." Roy decided, as he could feel fatigue begin to weigh on his mind.

As they stumbled through the woods, both were silent, except for the occasional cough from the younger alchemist. As they neared the gate to the manor, however,Edward stopped. Roy walked a few more paces forward before looking back.

"Something wrong, Edward?" The blonde neither said nor did anything for a few moments, just staring at the ground. He shook his head before he looked up and murmured, "It's nothing." And moved past Roy, up the path to the manor.

Roy stayed at the gate, and stared after him. He now knew the young alchemist was extremely wary of fire, and now wary of his ability to control it. But Roy now had to wonder, why Edward hadn't at least tried to fight back against the wolves? How _did_ he lose his arm and leg? And he clearly hadn't been referring to the flame Roy had sent after him this morning when he had muttered what he had about fire...'_I will find out what's bothering him.' _Narrowing his eyes in determination, he followed after the blonde.


	14. Sharing the Past

**Heylo! A new chapter for you all to read!**

**Because I have had a few requests for longer chapters, I'm happy to say that because there should now be more stuff happening, the chapters **_**should**_** be getting longer! ^^**

**I'm gonna have to admit that I was surprised that I managed to crank out this chapter in about three days! (I was finishing another oneshot before working on this chapter) And now I'm happy to say that in addition to chapter 14, I will also be working on a Vampire!Ed oneshot. I hope for it to be somewhat funny.**

**Also speaking of chapter 14, that is when some of the 'M' rated things will begin to happen…**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Hopefully the next one will be up soon! **

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><p>The moment Edward walked into the foyer, Mustang's servants went berserk. They ushered him into the sitting room, where the couch was a few feet away from a roaring fire. Maes and Jean had gone to help Gracia bring in the food, leaving Riza and Edward.<p>

"Sit down, you must be exhausted." Ed blinked at the concern that touched the normally monotone clock's voice. Edward looked between her, the couch and the fire.  
>He stared into the fire and thought about the day's events, and found himself confused. This morning he'd been terrified of both fire and Mustang, but now he didn't know how to feel about them. Mustang had come for him, right when he'd needed someone. He had protected him from the wolves, and so had the fire. He could feel his cheeks turn faintly red, remembering how the beast had held him close, almost, no definitely protectively.<p>

"-ward, are you alright?" Golden eyes blinked rapidly as he snapped out of his thoughts. He smiled down at the clock.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just thinking." Her small face frowned.

"Well sit down and think, you nearly just fell back into the fire with your swaying."

_Right_, the fire. It was so close to the couch, and though Ed wanted to warm himself as soon as possible, he wasn't so sure about sitting so close to the fire. So instead he moved to stand by the upholstered chair a bit further away. Maes and Jean came in on a cart with a small heap of clothes and blankets piled on top of it.

"Riza, Gracia needs some help in the kitchen with the master." The clock nodded and left the room. Then both the teapot and the candelabra turned to him.

"Well, Ed, we brought you some warm clothes courtesy of Rose." Jean waved a candle at the pile after he had jumped from the cart.

"You should change now, and we can get those into the wash soon. Gracia has a large meal ready for you two, and-" Edward soon stopped listening, focusing more on what Maes had said earlier about their master.

"What's wrong with Mustang?" Jean and Maes looked at each other, unsure expressions on their faces.

"Uh, well, you see, kid-"

"He got bit." Maes interrupted Jean and hopped forward to be directly in front of Ed. "One of the wolves got him. He should be fine, it just needed to be cleaned," he added, seeing the uneasy look on the blonde's face.

Edward nodded, faintly remembered through his pained memory haze, seeing a wolf launch itself onto Roy. He stood and quietly unbuttoned his shirt and stripped himself of all his clothes as the two living objects began to put a layer of blankets onto the couch. He pulled on soft a pair of soft wool pants and shirt and cautiously walked around the couch. Before he could sit down, he heard a low rumbling voice,

"Wait." He looked to the entrance of the room and found Mustang, looking better than he had before, dryer too, with a roll of bandages in his hand. He walked over to the back of the couch and pulled it further from the fire and closer to the chair. He then looked at Ed and nodded, moving to sit in the chair Edward had previously leaned against. Ed allowed a small smile and an unintentional blush to form on his face, as he too sat down.

He looked over at Roy when he heard what sounded like a frustrated growl, and found the beast struggling with the bandage around his upper arm. Edward scooted over on the blankets set out for him, and to the end of the couch closest to Mustang. He took the roll from him, making Mustang look up, a bit shocked.

"Let me help, it's my fault you're hurt." As an afterthought he added, "you stupid bastard." With a soft smile and a laugh, said bastard joined in.

"Alright, if you want to." He held out his arm and Edward immediately began to wrap the injury.

~/~/~

Roy was shocked at how careful Edward was when wrapping his arm. He kept his eyes locked on the blonde's face, seeing pure concentration in the tired golden eyes. He noticed that the blonde only winced when he saw the wound beneath the fur.

"It doesn't hurt too much," he tried to him, Edward looked up and stared at him. Roy was confused as to why until Edward sharply jerked the bandage tighter. He flinched and growled as pain flared through his arm.

"Doesn't hurt?" There was a faint echo of a laugh in Edward's scratchy voice as he readjusted the bandages so that they were more comfortable. Roy resumed watching the younger man, noticing how he shivered, despite the warmth of the nearby fire, and the faint flush of his cheeks.

"And how are you feeling?" Edward's hands paused on his arm he glared at his automail hand for a moment, probably thinking Roy wouldn't notice, before replying,

"I'm fine." He disproved himself when he coughed hard into his flesh hand a moment later. At the slight look of skepticism on Roy's face, Ed blushed a little.

"Fine?" Edward laughed a little as did Roy. Edward cleared his throat as he continued,

"Fine, I'm a little sick, but it's not a big deal." Roy nodded, not completely sure he believed him. Before he could start to ask him about the fire, Gracia and Riza came in on a tray which reminded him that they hadn't been alone. Roy looked over at his two friends and found both of them on the floor near the hearth, staring up in shock at the two of them.

"Edward Elric!" The man jumped at the sharp scolding tone in the female teapot's voice. "What do you think you are doing? Get yourself covered up immediately!" Ed hurriedly tucked himself in, so that his head was at the other side of the couch, facing Roy. He smiled sheepishly at both him and Gracia.

The two of them were served their large dinners, and to everyone's surprise, Ed only ate a little of his food, instead of scarfing the food down the moment it was in his lap. Roy frowned, worried. Edward was clearly feeling worse than he let on. But he couldn't smell any sickness on him, not yet anyway. Roy glanced down at the floor and caught Maes' worried glance.

"Edward?" The blonde stopped pushing the food around his plate and looked at him. "I have a few questions about today." Seeing him gulp and look down at his plate before nodding, Roy gestured for his servants to leave the room. He knew they wouldn't go far and would more than likely be listening in on their conversation. "I'd like to start off by apologizing for being so out of control this morning." He stared at the cut on the blonde's cheek and felt fresh waves of remorse wash over him. "And for hurting you."

At first it looked as though Edward was confused, then realization flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, uh," he raised a hand absentmindedly to the cut on his cheek. "That's fine, I mean it's not like I didn't provoke you. And I'm sorry for going down the west wing." He clenched at the blanket in his lap before continuing. "Equivalent exchange."

Roy was confused, what could Edward possibly mean? It wasn't equivalent that he had been hurt and scared out of his mind and nearly eaten!

"You have questions for me, and I have a few questions for you. I'll answer yours if you answer mine. Equivalent exchange."  
>Roy nodded in understanding. When a minute of silence passed between them, and Roy noticed that Ed was staring at him expectantly, the beast realized that he was to start first.<p>

"How did you lose your arm and leg?" Edward winced at the question and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"I was in a car accident when I was younger; both limbs had to be amputated. Why does that rose in your room emit a glow and...Float?"

"I don't know, honestly. All that I do know is that it's...Like a timer of sorts. Why are you so afraid of fire?" Roy watched as the small blonde visibly flinched. After a moment, his eyes opened and already looked so distant that it nearly scared Roy. His head slowly turned toward the fireplace when he finally spoke, watching the flames intently.

"Mom was driving home from a day at the market, in one of those new cars. I...I don't know _how_, but we must've crashed or maybe the car had a faulty engine. Either way the next thing I know, there's fire everywhere, and it was spreading fast. My brother was the first out of the car, my mother was next. I...I couldn't get out." Edward's knuckled turned white as he clenched the blankets tighter, his eyes not leaving the flickering flames for a single moment. "Something was wrong with my seat belt. The latch for it was stuck and it trapped me there."

Roy stared at the man before him, the blankets seemed to make him look smaller, but the light from the flames made his golden eyes and hair glow. The young man looked so weak, and yet Roy could see his inner strength.

"Then," Roy was surprised; he had thought that was the end of his story. "Mom came back for me." Edward coughed a little as his voice broke at the end of his sentence.

"She opened the door and tried to get me out; she had to crawl in next to me to get to the buckle. I don't know how long it took for her to unlock the buckle, but the fire had spread across the entire floor of the car. By the time it had come undone, both my arm and my leg were burning. I tried to get out through the open door, but it hurt too much. I could hear mom screaming my name, she was burning too. I must've blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up on the side of the road. I couldn't move, I couldn't see my brother, but I could see Mom." Edward went silent, and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and tucking his head in.

"Who are the people in the photos in the west wing?" Roy was a bit startled when the blonde's story abruptly ended, he wanted to know more.

"They are of Riza and Jean, they are the two blondes." He was a little surprised that Edward knew about the pictures, then again, they were practically covering the walls..."The pregnant woman and the dark-haired man with glasses are Gracia and Maes."

"And you're the dark-haired man who's always standing by himself?" Stunned, Roy thought back on the pictures, the only ones he hadn't shredded of himself were the ones with everyone together as a group. And even then he had made sure to only display the ones where he could hardly be seen. He found himself nodding to the blonde's question unconsciously.

"What happened? To your brother and mother, I mean." Edward sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch.

"After the accident my brother, Alphonse, retreated into a suit of armor my father left behind when he disappeared. He rarely comes out of it, and I haven't seen his actual face since that day. And Mom," Edward chewed on his lower lip for a moment and gulped before continuing. "She died."

Roy felt this overwhelming wave of grief wash over him for the woman he had not known, but had died from his element. He didn't quite know what to say and felt horrible for asking his question.

"What exactly," Edward coughed again as his voice cracked, "is the enchantment you all are under?" Roy froze. "Like, what are the conditions? Why did this happen to you?"

"I," Roy began, looking away from the glowing amber eyes. "I can't answer that. At least not fully." He didn't want to tell the blonde that he would have to learn to love him if Roy and the others would ever have a chance to return to normal. That just wouldn't be fair to place all this on Edward's shoulders: Roy couldn't force him to love him.

"An old woman came to my house almost two years ago now, she asked for my alchemy secrets in exchange for the rose in my room. I wasn't willing to give my alchemy notes away to someone who I had never met before. She didn't like that, and so she cursed me with this appearance and the world outside of this manor has seemed to all but forget about me. My friends and servants were changed as well. She gave me a small list of things I need to do before my thirtieth birthday, or else this will be permanent. She left the rose behind as a timer or reminder of sorts." _'As though I need a reminder.'_ Roy thought to himself as he looked to his fur-covered hand. When he looked back up, he saw Edward was frowning.

"That isn't fair, nor is it equivalent!" His frown deepened, and he looked up at Roy and smiled a little. "I'll help you as much as I can, Bastard."  
>Roy could feel his heart warm at the sight, and the words touched him deeply. <em>'If only he knew...'<em>

"So how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, you?" Edward countered with a soft smile. Roy felt a little guilty, eleven years older. _Eleven!_

"I'm...Twenty-nine." Edward didn't even blink.

"So, the enchantment will be permanent soon?

"As of May twentieth."

"February third." Edward's smile grew as he laughed a little and Roy chuckled with him. When Edward yawned suddenly, Roy looked to the non-living wall clock.

"It's late Ed, try to get some sleep."

~/~/~

_'Ed...He called me Ed.'_ He smiled a little and nodded to Mustang and began to settle down into his blankets. He felt _damn_ cold and his ports _ached_, but he wasn't about to voice these complaints. He closed his eyes and murmured,

"'Night Mustang," Edward's eyes snapped open as he realized he still didn't know his name. "Wait, uh, one more question." When he heard the beast hum a reply, he asked, "What _is_ your name?"

The beast was silent.

"Roy Mustang."

Edward smiled as he turned over, glad that after so many weeks, he could finally know that damn bastard's name.


	15. Something There

**So this chapter ended up being shorter than I thought it would be, there was more I was gonna write at the end, but I think it'll make a better opening for chapter 15.**

**This is the chapter where the 'M' ratedness of the story begins to come out to play.**

**Just another warning is all. **

**Hopefully chapter 15 will be out soon!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Edward was a little surprised to find himself being held tightly in the beast's strong arms. He nuzzled his head into the soft black chest fur and sighed happily, feeling absolutely right where he was. He gasped quietly in shock as Roy picked him up and carried him. Ed couldn't be very sure as to where they were - nothing looked familiar. So when the beast opened the door to a room where the only piece of furniture was an ornately carved bed with soft looking covers, Edward's eyes drank in the sight and his jaw dropped a little.<p>

"Mustang," he murmured, his awe showing in his voice, "where are we?"

There was no answer.

Edward leaned his head back onto Mustang's arm as his hand clenched at his chest fur in an attempt to get a better look at his face. He was a little shocked to see Roy staring down at him with a look that Edward just could not place, in his eye. He didn't realize that they had been moving until he felt the soft covers of the bed underneath him as the beast lay him down.

Before he knew it, he was completely bare beneath the elder. Edward moaned as Mustang ran his hands down the sides of his body, resting them at his hips. Roy's tongue lapped at his neck and Ed shivered as he tilted his head back to give him better access. He wrapped his arms around the beast's broad shoulders.

"Bastard." The sound of his voice made the beast look up from his neck. His dark blue eyes were soft and kind as he raised a hand to cup his injured cheek. Edward leaned into the touch on instinct and let out a quiet whimper.

Roy pressed his mouth against Ed's cheek, the hand at his waist rubbing his skin comfortingly. He then moved his fingers over Edward's lips, pulling the lower down gently before moving to his throat and trailing down his chest slowly. Ed shivered and squirmed at the touch but stopped all movement when he felt Roy's hand take hold of his arousal.

"Mustang," he gasped as the beast began to stroke him from base to tip. His hips moved of their own accord, trying to hurry the strokes. The beast still made no noise, and Edward couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this. Edward, as of recently, couldn't help but notice the change in his feelings toward the master of the manor. And though Ed took pleasure in what was occurring, he had to wonder _why._

However, any thought he had on the matter disappeared as Roy lifted Ed's legs over his shoulders and pressed his own hardness to the blonde's entrance. He looked up at Roy, his eyes went wide.

"R-Roy, I-I-ah!" Edward's arms tightened around Roy's shoulders and he gripped at the fur there. But instead of feeling pain, like he had thought he would, he felt immense pleasure. With a small cry he arched his back off the bed. Mustang continued to stroke him at a maddeningly slow pace as he thrust into Edward's body. Before long, Edward's hips were moving in rhythm with Roy's.

Edward panted loudly, the waves of pleasure he felt not allowing him to get a proper breath. He made small noises showing his pleasure in every pant. As he felt the hot, burning ecstasy pool in his lower stomach, he squirmed more and more.

"R-Roy," Ed gasped breathlessly, feeling himself losing control. "Roy, Roy, Roy," he practically chanted just as he lost it with a high pitched gasp.

~/~/~

Roy knelt beside Edward, washcloth in hand as he gently wiped away the sweat that formed along the blond hairline. He had been woken up by the pained moans coming from Ed. Roy watched worriedly as the blonde squirmed in his fitful sleep. When he had first come to check on the young man, he had nearly jerked his hand back at how hot his head was.

He had gone into the kitchen and asked for Gracia's help with the fever. The teapot told him what to do and how to care for Edward, and Roy knew she felt bad that she couldn't help him further. From the kitchen, he gathered a small bowl of water and a washcloth before heading back to the sitting room.

"Mustang...?" Roy's head jerked up from the bowl of water. Ed's voice was weak, but questioning.

"I'm here, Ed," Roy took hold of his hand. Edward then muttered something incomprehensible. Roy tightened his grip and gently rubbed his other hand up and down his arm. Edward moaned softly and Roy could feel something stir within him. He sniffed the air and still smelt the sickness, whose scent seemed to blanket Ed's... Meaning he should _not_ be thinking anything of the blonde's noises. And yet there was a faint scent beneath the sickness but Roy wasn't able to catch it very well.

"Bastard," Edward mumbled turning his head to the left, revealing his bandaged cheek. Roy moved his hand from Ed's arm and cupped the cheek.

'_Is he dreaming about me?'_ Roy couldn't help but wonder, with Ed having said the two names he commonly called the beast. Roy stroked the bandage with his thumb in a soothing way, and was shocked when Ed's head rolled back and leaned into his hand. He was even more surprised to hear the quiet whimper that the blonde emitted.

The faint scent he had smelled before spiked, but he still wasn't able to place what it was. It was a musky yet oddly sweet scent and it made all the blood in Roy's head rush straight to his groin. Roy's eyes widened, confused as to why his body was reacting the way it was.

When the blonde gasped, "Mustang" again, Roy could hear the desperate tone in his voice. A shocking jolt of pleasure shot through him and he roughly shook his head again. Roy then pulled back from Ed altogether and sat on the floor puzzled...And becoming quickly annoyed with the _'swishing'_ noise that came from behind him.

Turning his head, his jaw dropped in astonishment. His tail was moving. It wasn't just moving, it was _wagging_. His eyes followed his tail's movement, nearly hypnotized by it.

'_Why is my tail moving like this?'_ Roy thought to himself worriedly, almost wanting to take hold of it and force it to stop. _'It's_ never_ done this before!'_ He could feel his member harden within his pants and felt the skin under his fur redden with a flush.

'_I can't, no I can't be-'_ another soft moan from the unconscious Ed and a jolt of pleasure proved it. _'I _can't_ be getting off on this! Ed is sick with a fever. He doesn't even _mean_ to make these noises. And-'_

He freaked out as he realized he had somehow gone from sitting on the floor, to hovering over Ed's crotch. Inhaling deeply, he found that it was the source of that scent. When he took in another breath, he could feel his heart beat faster, the tempo of his tail pick up, and his pants grow tighter. Looking down, he saw the rise in the blanket and instantly knew Ed wasn't having a simple dream, nor were his moans from the fever.

Edward was having a wet dream. About _him._

"Oh Gate," Roy murmured, moving himself so his face was over Ed's flushed one, staring down at him. He was gasping now, his breathing quickened.

"R-Roy," hearing his actual name come from those lips made his heart skip a beat. Roy gasped in shock as Ed's back arched up, making their hard members touch through a variety of layers. Roy's eyes went wider and he could feel a faint rumbling in his chest at the pleasure that sparked from the touch. Roy could see that Edward clearly liked it as well, as his mouth was open and small whines tumbled out of it. He kept his hips up and rocked them together. Roy was nearly blinded by the pleasure, it had been so long since another living being had touched him in such a way, and found himself unconsciously rocking with Ed for a moment.

Reason, however, smacked him in the face as Ed's adorable sounds grew louder and louder. He jumped off of him and sat on the floor, staring in shock at the blonde man writhing on the couch, his legs getting tangled in the blankets. Ed's pants were fast and loud and Roy found he couldn't stand to be so far from the man.

"R-Roy." The beast took Ed's hand as he gasped, his tail wagging faster. When the blonde began to softly chant his name, Roy knew the dream would end fairly soon. When Edward came with a small squeak, Roy watched as his whole body shuddered before relaxing back against the couch again.

Roy was paralyzed when golden eyes fluttered open. They were still glazed over with both sleep and fever, but they still managed to lock onto Roy's.

""Roy," his voice was light and still had a dream-like quality to it. When his eyes closed and his body went limp again, Roy knew the young alchemist hadn't been fully aware and relaxed slightly.

The scent of Ed's come was strong to Roy and it was making his head spin. It was also not helping the situation he had in his pants. Standing slowly, he bent down and caressed Edward's cheek. He smirked a little, satisfied that his temperature was not as feverish as it had been before. Leaning back up, he returned to his chair and stared at Edward's peaceful face as he lost himself in thought.

'_There is hope,'_ Roy smiled softly as he looked at the blonde. _'He_ must_ feel something towards me, otherwise he wouldn't have dreamed of me in such a way...' _He frowned as another thought occurred to him. _'I _am_ the only living breathing thing that he had seen in the past two months. And he _is_ still in his teen years, when those types of dreams are common.'_ He sighed and felt depression settling in fast.

"Mnh, Roy," his ear perked up at Edward's quiet mumble. He watched as the blonde rolled to his side in his sleep. He had only just told him his first name, and already he was using it more.

He stood from his chair and made his way out of the sitting room, the scent of the blonde's arousal still hung in the air and it was driving Roy crazy. He decided he would retire to his room, take care of his business, and sleep for a while, though the dawn's sunlight was beginning to shine through the windows.

Perhaps he'd show Edward his library when he was well enough. He could almost imagine the blonde's face when he'd see all those books.

Stopping on the stairs and looking back through the open doorway to the sitting room, his eyes settling on the back of the couch where Edward slept.

'_Maybe, just maybe...There is something there that wasn't there before.'_

* * *

><p><strong>I would just like to say something real quick, I <em>did<em> look up how a person looks when they are having a wet dream so I could be as correct as possible, but what I wrote isn't right at all, and I_ do_ know that. It just wouldn't have been as entertaining if Ed just lay still and said and did nothing so, yeah...That's all, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	16. A Little Closer

**Hey, it's finally up! Another "tail wagging" chapter! XD**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and there should be a bit more plot to the next chapter!**

**^w^**

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><p>"They have gotten closer, yes, but still not close enough!" Jean complained loudly in the kitchen. The two teapots and the clock merely shook their heads at him.<p>

"It's going to take a lot, Jean. We all need to be patient." Riza walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"But we only have six months left!"

"We can't push them too far without pushing them apart," Gracia commented. "We'll just have to hope for the best and leave this in their hands."

The clock and candelabra nodded and went about their duties.

~/~/~

Edward woke up to bright sunlight shining in his eyes. He raised his flesh hand and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He rolled over onto his side to get away from the light. His golden eyes widening when he felt a stickiness between his legs.

He immediately sat straight up on the couch and looked around the room, relieved to find that Mustang was nowhere in the vicinity. He lifted the blanket a little and peered underneath, wincing at the dark spot he found on his pants and the slight smell that came with it.

_'What the hell did I dream about last night?'_ Edward thought putting the blanket back down. He sat there, trying to remember the dream when Maes hopped in, Elysia following behind.

"Good morning, Edward! You certainly look better today." The teapot smiled from the ground in front of the couch.

"Uh, thanks," Ed muttered quietly.

"So what do you want for breakfast? Graca's waking up the rest of the kitchen now."

"I'll have whatever Roy's having."

"Alright then, but I should tell you tha-" Maes broke off suddenly, his eyes widening. "You know his name."

"Yeah," Edward hesitated before replying, a light blush formed across the bridge of his nose. "He told me last night when we were talking."

"Maes nodded, he and the others had been listening in for a while, but as their conversation grew quieter and quieter, it became harder to hear and so they left.

"Right, as I was saying, Roy," he found it a little strange, but relieved that he could now say the master's name around the blonde man. "just went upstairs to his room about an hour or so ago. And it didn't look like he got much sleep last night. You had a bit of a fever last night, so he was taking care of you for most of the night. So I don't think he'll be up very soon."

Edward's face suddenly took on a bright red color. So that meant that Roy had more than likely been around when he came. Not only was Roy there, he realized, but he had also _dreamed _of him. He had had a _wet dream_ about the beast while in the same room as him!

_'Maybe I came after he went upstairs?'_ Edward thought to himself, but the uncomfortable feeling between his legs told him otherwise.

"-ward? Hello? Anyone home?"

"Sorry, what?" he shook his head as he snapped out of his thoughts. Elysia giggled as his blond hair fanned out around him before settling on his shoulders. He smiled sheepishly at the teacup and her father.

"You never told me what you wanted for breakfast."

"Uh, anything goes really, um. I think I'm going to go take a bath first."

"Get the grime off from yesterday?" the teapot made a sort of nodding motion. "I'll go tell Gracia. Something should be ready by the time you get out."

Edward nodded and waited for the two to leave the room before peaking under the blanket again. He sighed, he couldn't just go upstairs, what if one of the others hopped by, he wouldn't be able to hide the dark spot on his pants. Wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders, he stood, happy to find that the blanket fell down to his knees.

He had gotten partially up the stairs when Jean came around the corner at the top.

"Edward?" the candelabra questioned, "Why are you wearing a blanket?"

"Uh, I'm...Cold. Yeah, cold." He couldn't help but feel extremely awkward. All he wanted to do was run to his room and hide there for the rest of the day. That is, until he remembered Rose was in his room. And sadly, she was too big to remove. Jean nodded and continued past Ed and down the stairs. Edward then hurried to his room, asked Rose from a change of clothes, took them, and went to the bathroom down the hall.

While waiting for the tub to fill with warm water, Edward looked around the room. Over the past two months he'd gotten into the habit of checking to see whether or not there were living objects in the room. Satisfied that he found no new objects in the bathroom he used regularly, he stripped himself of his clothes and dipped his hand into the water. When the temperature was just right, he climbed into the tub and sank down into the water with a happy sigh.

He tilted his head back to relax on the rim of the tub as the water gently lapped against his chest. He thought back to the dream he had had and bit his lip. Was it odd that he had dreamed about Roy? Yes, he was currently a beast, but he hadn't always been. And hopefully soon he would be human again, so it wasn't all that weird to dream about him...But to have _that_ sort of dream about him...

Edward slid further underwater so that his mouth was under but his nose was over the water. He knew his feelings for Roy had slowly begun to change to something more than just friendliness. But he didn't think that he felt so strongly...

_'It was just a fluke,'_ Edward decided. _'A onetime thing that's not going to happen again.'_Repeating this to himself, he began to scrub at his body.

~/~/~

Three days later, Edward was extremely frustrated.

He had woken up either with come on him or with a hard-on. He no longer believed the first dream to be a fluke, but was still a little freaked out by the nightly dreams. They varied a little, but the end result was still the same: in the dream he and Roy would end up...Doing...Stuff.

As he lay in bed the third morning after the first, he could have sworn that it just wasn't natural to have so many wet dreams in such a short amount of time.

He was both thankful and annoyed that Roy had been avoiding him for the past few days. In fact, he had barely seen him except for him hurriedly retreating out of the dining room at dinner or in the morning a quick 'Hello' before disappearing down the West wing. Edward wasn't exactly sure how he would have been able to have an actual conversation with the beast; on account of how even those quick glimpses of him set his mind into the dreams.

During their quick "Good morning" the day before, Mustang had mentioned that he had something to show Ed in a few day's time, and then had quickly disappeared after.

"Damn," Edward groaned as he lay his flesh arm over his eyes.

"Are you alright, Edward?" The blonde nearly fell out of his bed. He had once again completely forgotten that Rose was in his room. This had led to a very awkward realization as he remembered mid-jerking off two days ago. Somehow she had not known what he was doing -she had thought he had had a stomachache, the way he was moaning and all. "Is your stomach bothering you again?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Edward rolled off the bed on the opposite side than where Rose was. He grabbed his robe and slipped it on. "I'm just going to take a bath, I'll see you later."

Edward sprinted for the door before the wardrobe could say anymore. He found a guest room that was not being used and lay back on the bed and slowly crept his hand down his pants as thoughts of the blue-eyed beast and his dreams drifted through his mind.

~/~/~

Roy stood in his library and was proud of how good it looked. With the drapes pulled back, the room was bright with sunlight, and the shelves, and tables and chairs had been freshly dusted. It had taken a while to get both floors of the library cleaned, but he believed it was in the best shape it could be and wanted to show Ed later that day.

He felt bad for avoiding the young man, but since that morning four days ago, he just couldn't listen to his voice without remembering the soft moans and whines that had fallen from his lips. And the scent that seemed to follow the blonde around the house drove Roy crazy with want.

But now he believed that for the most part he could control himself around that scent. And so he left the library which was just a few doors down from his bedroom and toward the East wing to get Edward for breakfast.

The moment he opened the door to the library, he froze as the smell that haunted him almost constantly hit his nose. He gulped and began breathing through his mouth as he made his way down the hall.

'_Maybe it's just the scent from earlier; he's probably not doing anything right now.' _The scent that was more pungent at the start of the East wing, told him that that was more than likely not the case. The rational part of his mind was telling him to return to the library, but a more curious part of it urged him on.

As he walked he listened intently and was about to lean himself against Edward's door, when he saw it was open a little. Though he could always just use his mirror to spy on Ed that felt wrong to him...Though the opportunity to watch through a crack in the door sent a thrilling shiver through him.

However, when he peeked in, he found that Edward was not there. Perhaps he had been right, and Ed had taken care of himself earlier and was actually waiting for Roy in the dining room.

His ears pricked up as he heard a quiet moan from further down the hall. He slowly crept further and further down until he found the source of it behind another guest room door. Since this door was closed, he was able to lean against it and listen.

"Oh damn," he could hear Ed whisper to himself and found his tail began to wag slowly.

He listened to Edward's voice and his irregular breathing intently. Roy could feel the skin beneath the fur on his face burn as he heard Edward moan his name and the quiet whispers of the bedcovers shifting. He was very tempted to go in and assist the blonde alchemist, but he knew that would be stepping over _many_ boundary lines. Ed's breathing was getting quicker and the variety of sounds he made was getting a bit louder, making Roy's tail pick up its pace.

"What's up, Roy?" The beast jumped a little away from the door he had been listening to Ed so intently he hadn't heard Maes coming down the hall.

"What are you doing so far down the hall? You do know that Edward's room is back the other way?"

"O-of course I do. I jus-"

"Roy," Maes quickly interrupted, his eyes locking on something, "why is your tail wagging?"

Roy cursed inwardly and turned to glare at his tail. "What are you talking about? Its done this before." He was trying to multitask by both talking to Maes and listening to Ed at the same time.

"No, its never done that before," Maes stated, hopping closer and looking quite curious. "Maybe you are coming down with somethi-"

It was at that time that Edward let out a loud cry of Roy's name from within the room, and Roy's tail swung itself back and forth excitedly as he could smell the scent of Edward's come

Roy looked into Maes's eyes, a bit horrified, seeing as how the teapot had heard it as well. When the teapot began to smirk, Roy quickly began walking away from the door.

"Oh, well, I have to go and finish a few things; I'll be down for breakfast in a bit!" Roy practically sprinted back up the hall.

Maes chuckled to himself. Perhaps there was _much_ less to worry about than the others thought.


	17. The Library and the Notes

**I'm so sorry this took so long to post! Believe me, I feel awful making you all wait so long. However the IB testing is over (thank God), and I'll have more time to write and type now. In fact, I have chapter 17 written and it just needs to be typed and edited before its able to be posted. But it will be up soon, next week sometime, I promise!**

**Also this chapter is a lot longer than previous chapters!**

**I hope you will all enjoy this chapter! And once again, I'm sorry!**

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><p>Edward cleaned up the little mess he had made with a flash of alchemy. After he made sure that it looked as though he had never been in room, he stuck his head out the door cautiously and jumped when he saw Maes there.<p>

_'Shit, did he hear me?'_ His face began to flush when the teapot spoke to him.

"So Edward, why were you in there?"

"Oh, uh," Edward tried his best to look innocent and not completely suspicious. "I was on my way to the bathroom, to take a bath, and then I heard something in here and thought I would check it out. That's all!" Edward wanted to curse himself as his voice squeaked at the end.

However, Maes seemed to believe him because he gave a small sort of nod before turning and hopping away.

"Alright, just thought I heard you say something is all!"

Edward's jaw dropped. So the teapot hadn't believed him...and did his voice sound somewhat...sing-songy? Like he knew something?

_'Aw hell,' _Edward slapped his hand to his forehead. He tightened his grip on his change of clothes and headed toward his bathroom.

~/~/~

Roy leaned back against the cool wall in his own bathroom and slowly slid down it. He tried to settle his uneven breathing as his skin still tingled delightfully. He was amazed that the blonde alchemist could make him feel this need just by his scent.

He got up a little shakily, and made his way to the cooling bath water. With a quiet snap of his fingers the tub was warmed and he quickly stepped into it. He let himself soak as he relaxed into the water and let his thoughts wander.

He had smelt Ed, heard Ed, the only thing he was missing now was seeing Ed. He found he had this new gnawing need to see the blonde coming undone. To see him as he...

Roy shook his head.

_'I can't have these thoughts. Not right now,'_ he began to scrub at his fur. _'I need to think of a way to get him into the library, and still make it be a surprise._

Roy had plans of not just showing Ed his notes on his flame alchemy, but telling him more about his friends. Show him pictures and maybe tell a few stories about them...Maybe even show Ed a picture of himself before the transformation happened. Roy wasn't sure whether or not to show him the only picture he had found of himself that he hadn't shredded. Roy was nervous and conflicted about his decision.

Blinking in shock as he felt the skin beneath his fur sting, and he stopped scrubbing. He sat there in the tub for a moment, just soaking in the water. Sighing and getting out, he grabbed a towel and began to roughly dry his fur.

_'Better hurry and get downstairs,'_ he thought of himself as he pulled on his alchemized-to-fit pants. _'Don't need Maes to be telling everyone...'_ he froze at the thought, his eyes widening. _'Shit, he's probably already told them all! Damn him.'_

Roy eyed his navy blue cape by the door, not able to decide whether he wanted to wear it or not. Figuring he should look outside to decide, seeing as how the warmth of the manor depended on the weather. He glanced out the balcony door and was a bit shocked to see a light snow. He walked to the door and watched it fall. As it landed on the stone of the balcony, he noted that it melted immediately.

"Wet snow," he murmured. Ed had come to the manor three months ago, and that was late fall, he realized now. The weather for winter was chilly, but warmer than usual. _'The snow's quite late this year.'_He went back to his door and swung his cloak around him, fastening it at his throat, and left his room to go to breakfast.

~/~/~

Edward wondered why everyone seemed to staring at him. Some of their eyes were wide, others (like Jean) were trying to chuckle quietly. He felt very uncomfortable and fidgeted in his seat. Ed shivered a little and cursed in his head. He'd had a faint hope that the weather over the manor was different or something, that maybe they skipped right over winter and into spring here. But as he watched the snow form and fall during his earlier bath, he knew his hopes were silly.

After another chuckle from Jean, Edward's face flushed, he didn't know why the candelabra was laughing, but he knew it was at his expense. And...was that whispering he could hear? Damn, he was sure they said his name. He was just about to say something to them when Roy walked in. He was amazed at how quickly they shut their mouths and proceeded to go about setting the table.

He stared at the designs on the wooden table, waiting for his food and not sure at all what to say, as he had been every time they had eaten together in the past few days.

_'What can I possibly say to him? "Oh hey how's your morning been? Mine? Well I had a damn good dream about you last night. And when I woke up, I was _really_ hard. So I went off to your guest room and jerked off. Nice, right?" No, I don't think saying anything like that would be wise.'_

Edward jumped a little as he felt Roy's fur brush his arm as he sat down next to him. He was shocked that the beast had not taken his spot at the head of the table, especially with the way he'd been avoiding Ed the past few days.

He watched as Roy's face shifted into an annoyed frown as all of the objects started whispering as though they had forgotten who else was in the room. Roy coughed loudly into his hand, making them all freeze where they were.

"If you would _please _get us our breakfast, that would be _lovely_." Roy said with a slight growl in his voice. Immediately, the plates hopped off of trays and over to them as the silverware scurried over after.

As his friends left with the trays, they sent him knowing smirks, which Roy narrowed his eyes to, especially to a certain teapot. Not quite liking feeling out of the loop, the blonde opened his mouth when Roy beat him to speaking.

"Good morning, Edward. I apologize for their behavior." Roy paused for a moment, glaring at the door. "I don't have a clue what's gotten into them."

"Oh," Ed murmured quietly, still feeling embarrassed. "That's okay, though I have to ask you something."

~/~/~

Roy wasn't sure if he wanted to answer Ed's question, but he just couldn't say no, so he nodded his head.

"Why the hell have you been avoiding me, Bastard?" Roy fought back a flinch as golden eyes narrowed and glared into his.

"I've been working on something."

Edward scowled at him now. "Yeah? What?"

"I'll show you after breakfast." Roy watched amusedly as Ed's eyes widened and his jaw dropped just a hair.

"You mean I can see it?"

Roy chuckled, turning fully to face Ed. "Of course. I think you'll like this quite a bit." He stabbed at the eggs on his plate and rose the fork to his mouth. Edward smiled a little and nodded as he started at his own plate.

"Roy?" hearing his name from Edward made the beast shiver a little. "I was just wondering if I could look at your notes?" Edward must've seen his eyes widen, because he hurried with the rest of what he wanted to say. "I know some alchemists really don't like to share their notes or theories, so it's fine if you don't want me to see them! I was just wondering is all."

"It's fine, Edward!" Roy couldn't help but let some of his amusement seep into his voice. "I was planning to show you the notes after the surprise."

Roy was surprised at how bright Edward's amber eyes got.

"Well, let's go to this surprise! We're done here anyways." Edward quickly stood from the table and looked to Roy, excitement clearly written on his face.

"Alright fine, but," Roy replied as he stood, extremely unsure whether or not Ed would go along with this next bit. "Would you mind wearing this?" He held up a small strip of cloth.

"A blindfold?" Roy watched as Ed bit his lip and tilted his head a little. "For the surprise?" The beast nodded and he was about to tell Ed to forget it, when the blonde nodded sharply. "Alright."

Roy stood in shock once again, this time at how trusting Ed was. He just stood there in front of Roy, his eyes closed and breathing even. Roy could faintly feel his heart flip at the amount of trust Ed had in him. He walked behind the blonde, careful of his hair as he wrapped the cloth over Ed's eyes and tied it behind his head.

"Alright, Edward. " He placed one hand on the small of his back and the other taking Ed's left hand. "I'll lead you up the stairs now."

Edward gave a quick nod and tightened his grip on Roy's hand as they walked slowly out of the dining room. Once they reached the stairs, Roy lowered his hand and gripped at Ed's waist.

"I won't let you fall, now then, one step up. Okay, good, now another...And another..."

~/~/~

Edward was a little freaked out by the blindfold and not being able to see where Roy was leading him, but he couldn't resist being so close to Roy. The warm hands on him nearly made him forget he was cold, or that his automail had begun to ache badly. Roy's voice echoed in his ear as he helped him up the steps, and he found himself wanting to lean into the beast's body and leech away his body heat.

When his automail foot caught itself on the stair, he could feel the air rushing up past his face and was too startled to brace himself.

"Got you," he barely heard Roy murmur as his hand tightened around Ed's wrist as the other arm wrapped around his waist. He then pulled Ed back against him, helping him onto what Ed figured must've been the landing. "Only a few more steps then we'll be done with the stairs."

Edward gave a quick nod, and his breath hitched a little as Ed realized he was being led up the west wing stairs. Vague ideas of what might happen next flew through his mind. As dreams from nights past joined his thoughts as he paused on the step he was on and felt his all of his muscles tighten.

'_No, I can't think like that. Not now,'_ buthe couldn't help the way his breathing picked up and his heart beat faster as he shivered when Roy's hand moved on his shoulder.

It could happen, a side of Ed supposed, that Roy could be leading him to his bedroom, and do the things the dream Roy had done...Edward shook his head, he couldn't start acting odd around Roy now. Not when he was just starting to acknowledge him again.

~/~/~

Roy paused when Ed stopped suddenly on the stairs. He could feel the blonde's pulse pick up from where he held onto his wrist, and heard his breathing become quicker, as he leaned against Roy a bit more. Roy stiffened as a faint scent wafted past his nose, coming from Ed.

'_Oh, God, no. You've got to be kidding me! How is he-'_ Roy shook his head and helped Ed up the remaining stairs and down the dark hall. He had to act normal. He couldn't start getting weird on Ed. He forced himself to ignore the call of his bedroom and continued walking past it.

Stopping outside of the library doors, he whispered, "Now, wait here a moment." He moved in front of Ed to open the doors. Looking around the large room, he smiled to himself at the state of the room. Turning back to Ed, he saw the faint blush on his cheeks, and noted with relief that Edward's sudden scent of arousal had dimmed down a bit.

He walked to Edward and took hold of both of his hands, guiding him into the library. He stepped behind Ed and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Keep your eyes closed." He began to untie the blindfold and let it fall away from Ed's face. He stepped to the blonde's side, keeping a hand on his automail shoulder, and said, "Now you can open them."

Roy watched as Edward's eyes fluttered open and had how they instantly widened, not bothering to adjust to the brightness of the room. Ed gasped as he took a small step forward and turned his head back and forth as he took in the room.

"There're so many books!" Edward murmured as he turned back to Roy, his eyes wide and a huge smile on his face that Roy couldn't help but return.

~/~/~

Edward turned away from Roy to look at the room again. There was a full floor of just books, and two overhangs on both on both sides with even more tall shelves full of books. For the large shelves, elaborate ladders decorated the walls, and there were study tables that dotted the room. Against the far wall, there were several comfy-looking couches and chairs around a large fireplace. There were large windows along the walls, which were brightly lighting the room.

When he turned back to Roy, he couldn't help the way his eyes would flick away from the beast's face to see the library.

"The plan I had was to finish cleaning and fixing this place up in time for your birthday. I finished it a bit earlier than I had expected, and figured that giving it to you a couple weeks early wasn't a bad idea," Roy said with a smile both in his voice and on his face.

"Really? You mean," Edward was in shock and Roy had his full attention. "I can come here?"

"Anytime you want to, the library is open to you," Roy nodded. "And I have some of my alchemy notes on the coffee table over there." He pointed toward the fireplace.

For a few moments, Edward was able to completely forget the aching pain of his automail ports. However, when he remembered, he decided it would be a better idea to walk slowly to the table instead of running. He didn't want Roy to see him limping.

He sat on one side of the couch and picked up some of the papers there, his eyes scanning over the words quickly before starting from the top. By the time he got half through the page, he was shivering. The many large windows making the wondrous library rather drafty. He jumped in his seat when he felt a sudden heavy, but _warm_ presence on his shoulders. Looking up, he saw Roy standing behind him, but without his navy blue cloak that always covered his broad shoulders. It took him a moment to realize that the very same cloak now covered him.

"Thanks," he smiled brightly and went back to reading. He had a few questions, but they could wait. He wanted to immerse himself in this new alchemy before asking anything. He wrapped the cloak around himself, breathing deeply into the cloth and catching Roy's scent. He smiled a little more to himself and snuggled deeper into it. Sadly, he still found that despite the barrier against the cold of the room, his automail still ached painfully.

Ed put the papers down and rubbed at his shoulder, wincing. He just hoped he wouldn't get sick like he had the first time he had come to the manor. He vaguely noticed that the room had gotten dark and looked up to see that Roy had pulled all of the thick curtains closed except for two that were further away in the room. Looking behind him, he saw Roy walking towards him.

"Are you alright?" Ed noticed the worried tone in the beast's voice. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to respond. Lie and say nothing, or tell the truth about the automail.

"My ports hurt, they do this all the time in the winter, especially before a storm." Truth was the best in this situation, Ed decided. He saw concern in the blue eyes and shrugged, wincing a little at the movement.

~/~/~

"Can I get you something?" Roy knew the blonde had felt as though he was going to be sick his first night, and he didn't like seeing him suffer. However, Edward shook his head.

"You can sit here if you want," Ed gestured to the spot next to him. Roy nodded, knowing that he was trying to change the subject. He didn't want to pester Edward too much when he was in pain and sat down quietly next to him.

Once he was seated, Ed scooted closer to him and handed him one of his papers.

"I don't quite understand this," Edward pointed to a diagram on the paper, and Roy nodded and began to explain it to the blonde who nodded every so often. Eventually, he felt Ed's head land on his shoulder.

"Edward?" the blonde twitched a little.

"I'm awake," Roy looked down and saw his eyes open slowly as he rubbed them with his flesh hand. Ed shivered and yawned a little, throwing some of the cloak onto Roy's lap as he shifted his legs onto the couch. "Sorry, just tired is all."

Roy carefully wrapped an arm around Ed's back as the younger leaned into him. He raised his other hand and snapped, sending sparks into the fireplace, making the logs catch and light. Edward had flinched and his hand had tightened in his black fur on his chest. This caused Roy mild discomfort, but he soon relaxed and let go. They stayed there, letting the heat from the fire wash over them.

Roy looked down at Edward after a few minutes and raised his eyebrows as he saw that the blonde had fallen asleep so quickly.

'_His automail must have been bothering him more than he let on.'_ He absentmindedly stroked Ed's back as he watched him. Roy could feel his head drooping and put his hand on his cheek and rested his arm on the arm of the couch. His eyes were closing slowly as much as he tried to fight it. Finally, he gave in and smiled at the warmth of the blonde sleeping on him.


	18. I Love You, Edward

**I'm sorry this took so long. Honestly it should have been up a while ago. **

**But in my weak defense, I just want to say that I **have** been very busy these past few weeks. Two weeks ago was my last week of high school. Last day of school me and my editor Meep went to Colossal-Con. She was Ed, I was Trisha. We got back and I had hoped to get some quick typing in. However a friend of mine, Rachel, and I started an RP (which in my opinion is pretty good...it's got werewolves and evil vampys...and of course Roy and Ed XD Not really the typical fic with such things...or maybe it is and I'm biased...that could be it...) We'll probably end up posting it some time soon (I hope ^^). But I found that as I was typing both that RP and this fic, that the little add ons to this fic were more of what would be acceptable to the RP and not 'Beauty and the Bastard.' In addition to that RP, I've been doing my last few weeks at my job in my high school's library (everyday). I graduated this last weekend. And I've also been practicing for my drivers test...which was today (err well seeing as how its now 12:00am as I am writing this note, it was yesterday) AND I PASSED!**

**You've probably noticed that the name changed...well it only did cause I found out that FF was deleting fanfics with profanity in the description/title. And 'Bastard' isn't a very nice word...XD But the fics true name will forever be "Beauty and the Bastard".**

**So, you probably didn't need/want to know whats been going on in my life, but I figure I ought to throw it out there!**

**Now to get onto what you clicked on this email alert or notice on fanfiction for!**

**I hope you all enjoy! ^w^**

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><p>It had been a week since Roy showed Ed the library. The only times the blonde had left it was when Roy dragged him down to eat, or to his room in the East wing to sleep. Edward loved not just reading and looking into Roy's alchemic theories, but also reading more alchemic texts and other books that the library held as well. He was currently curled into one of the chairs by the fireplace with a thick blanket wrapped around him. His eyes flickered back and forth across a page in one of Roy's thick, bound notebooks. They froze as he reread one line in the middle of the page again and again.<p>

"What is this?" he murmured to himself as he cocked his head to the side. He carefully set the old notebook down on the coffee table and shrugged off the blanket. He shivered and winced as his ports throbbed. A few days into the week, and the snow began to stick and now it coated every surface it possibly could. He grew used to the pain and now it was just a dull throb.

His cheeks reddened as he remembered how he had fallen asleep on the beast a few days prior. He was shocked when he had woken up on him, afraid things would become awkward between them. But instead they both managed on with no odd feelings at all. A few of the times they sat together on the couch, Ed just couldn't resist the warmth of Roy in the cold room. He would curl against him and Roy would wordlessly adjust himself and continue on with his explanation.

Edward stretched his arm and leg before walking to the library door. If he wanted answers to what Roy wrote, he'd have to go to the man himself...er beast? Beastman? Ed shook his head as he left the library and went to Roy's room.

Now he knew better than to swing open the door, but rather to knock first. He rapped on the door loudly and waited for Roy's response. Edward waited a minute before knocking again. Still he got no response. His blond eyebrows furrowed into a frown as he took hold of the knob, turning it ever so slightly before letting go of it and allowing the door to open on its own.

"Edward," the blonde jumped as he heard Roy say his name huskily, and then blushed heavily at the moan that came after. He leaned against the side of the doorframe with the hinges on it, and listened carefully with his eyes closed and found if he listened hard enough he could hear Roy panting.

_'No, he's not-he can't be...To_ me_?'_ Edward couldn't help but think as he peeked in through the cracked door. All he could see was Roy's thick black fur on his back and his tail wagging back and forth on the bed covers.

"Ah, Ed," Edward could feel the blood rush from his cheeks to his lower regions and he bit down hard on his lower lip. Ed didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to return to the library and try to forget what he was seeing, or should he go to his room and take care of the slowly growing problem in his pants? In the end, he did neither and continued to lean on the doorframe.

~/~/~

Roy moaned again as he thrust into his hand. He tightened his grip on his cock as he continued to switch between moving his hips and moving his hand. He was close, just teetering on the edge. Roy began thinking of the sounds he had heard Edward make, how his breathing became gasps and pants, how he had a range of moans at his disposal. How his scent, a musky yet sweet scent, seemed to flood the manor when he was aroused.

Roy breathed heavily and found he could still smell Edward's scent. It was surprisingly strong, Roy found as he breathed deeper and deeper. However his breathing quickly became shorter and he could feel his cock throb and pulse in his hand. Pleasure washed over his mind and Roy gasped as his body shuddered when he came.

Roy relaxed his head back onto his pillow and rested his hand on the bed covers. He sighed as he could still feel his rapidly swinging tail slow to a gentle, occasional wag. As his breathing returned to normal, he realized something that made all of his relaxed muscles tense.  
>Edward's scent wasn't just surprisingly strong, but surprisingly fresh as well. Almost as though he was right outside his door.<p>

Roy felt the skin beneath his fun on his face burn a bright red as he realized what this could possibly mean. He slowly craned his head around and saw what he was afraid of. The door that had been completely closed when he had started was now ever so slightly open. No one else could open doors other than he and Edward. And because he certainly didn't open it...that meant Ed did.

Roy had absolutely no clue how to respond or to take care of a situation like this. Instead of calling Ed out on it, he rolled off the bed and onto the floor, opposite the side with the door. He cleaned himself up and pulled on the pants he had discarded there.  
>He stood and made his way slowly to the door. As he got closer, Roy heard Ed turn and run from the door. He was quiet, but with his sensitive hearing, Roy could hear the uneven footfalls clearly. Shaking his head he gathered some towels together and left to the bathroom.<p>

_'I'm going to have to say something to him before dinner,'_ Roy thought to himself as he drew his bath, glad he had at least waited until after lunch to take care of his problem. _'The talk shouldn't go too badly. Awkward, yes. There's no way it won't be with both of us masturbating to thoughts of each other...But maybe this will be _the_ night.'_ Suddenly Roy felt hope flare within him and his eyes widened.

_'I've shown him my notes and am explaining them to him, so that part of the curse is done. Which means that he just has to say he love me. It really shouldn't be too hard to get him to say it.'_ Roy remembered the way his heart had swelled when Ed had said he'd do everything he could to help him return to normal. Roy slid into the tub and let himself soak there. _'Ed, you're already helping me and and you don't even realize it.'_

Edward leaned against the library door that he had just closed as he breathed heavily.

_'That can't have really happened. There's no way he could...but he did.'_ He slid down the door and sat numbly on the floor. _'So he _does_ like me?'_ Ed snorted at himself. _'Well he wouldn't be jacking off and saying my name if he didn't at the very least _like_ me.'_

Edward stood and made his way back to the couch. Grabbing the blanket and he wrapped it around his shoulders as he walked over to one of the bookcases, scanning for a book that might help him to understand what Roy's notes meant.

As he tried to get his mind off of what he had seen and focus on the notes, his thoughts couldn't help but occasionally wander back to his and Roy's relationship.

_'He's a beast, and if he doesn't get turned back soon, he'll be stuck like this forever.' _Edward's hand froze over a book and he glared, more at the thoughts than the book. _'I'll help him, he has to turn back to normal, back to being human.'_ He turned from the shelf and went to the next. _'Going further into our relationship now would more than likely just be awkward and weird in all honesty. But...do I care about that? Does he?'_

Edward sighed. This was distracting him from the notes far too much. Giving up on the current set of shelves he was on, he went over to one of the small staircases that led to a slight overhang and started climbing up them. The air was colder on the small second floor of the library, but this was also where Edward found most of the books he needed.

He pulled the blanket tighter around himself as he climbed up the ladder to view books on the higher shelves. His grip on the ladder loosened as he began to pull books out and flip through them occasionally when he thought it might be helpful. Ed jumped when he heard a light cough from somewhere behind him. He momentarily lost his grip and his foot got tangled in the blanket. He slid down several rungs before he was able to catch himself on one.

"Didn't quite expect the reaction from you," the blonde's face flushed at the voice. The very same voice that had been moaning his name not too long ago. Ed peered over his shoulder and frowned a little. He was still pretty high up, but there was something odd about Roy's face, he just couldn't think of what it was. He realized Roy had started talking again and leaned further back on the ladder.

"Sorry, could you repeat the second part of your sentence? I didn't catch tha-" when Edward had caught himself from his previous fall, the blanket had settled on the rung that his foot had landed on. And as he had shifted his position, the blanket had shifted as well. Ed fell back, unable to grab onto anything with a small cry. He grunted softly when he felt Roy's arms go around him.

"Well, it's a good thing I caught you," Edward glared up at Roy as he smiled down at him. The glare turned into a scrutinizing gaze and Ed momentarily forgot about the earlier event. Ed ignored the way Roy's eyes widened as he raised his hand to the beast's cheek. _'It's less furry than before,'_ he thought as he rubbed his thumb across it.

"Your face...it looks different," Ed murmured as his face grew closer to Roy's. It was his mouth area; his nose looked less flat, his lips looked smaller and his teeth weren't poking out anymore. The fur on his face over all looked thinner and depending on how his thumb brushed it, he could see pale skin beneath it. He was looking a bit more...human.

~/~/~

Roy was finding it increasingly difficult to focus as Edward's face grew closer and closer.

He had come into the library to talk to the blonde and perhaps confess. But Ed must have been so focused he hadn't heard him come in. Roy's heart nearly stopped the first time Ed had slipped. The second he was relieved he'd been able to get under the blonde in time and had been able to catch him. One arm wrapped around his knees and his other around his shoulders. When Ed pulled his face closer his eyes grew wide.

_'Different? Why would it be different?' _his thoughts scattered however as he could feel Edward's warm breath on his lips.  
>Roy's legs quaked suddenly and gave out, causing him to fall back. And because of how Ed was positioned, he fell on top of Roy. Due to where Ed's face was...their lips collided as they fell.<p>

Laying on the floor, Roy stared up at Edward who was staring down at him with wide eyes. Roy was surprised, maybe Edward was right. His face _had_ changed, because before their lips wouldn't have fit together so perfectly. Inwardly, he smiled; this was something he'd been longing to do for a long while now, and he wasn't about to pass up this chance.

Roy closed his eyes and kept the hand on Ed's back there and moved his other hand up to hold the back of the blonde's neck. He pressed his lips harder against Edward's and was only mildly surprised when the blonde kissed back. Pulling away, Roy scanned Ed's face, a bright red blush was growing on his cheeks, and his eyes were fluttering a bit as they opened.

With his enhanced hearing, Roy could hear Maes, Jean and Riza gasp. They must have followed him in and had seen the entire thing.  
><em>'Now or never. I've got to say it. The other condition must be nearly done enough if my appearance has changed. And damn, that flushed look makes him so...'<em> his thoughts trailed off as he stared into Edward's bright amber eyes.

"I love you, Edward."

There was complete and total silence in the library as everyone held their breaths. Edward's eyes grew wide and his mouth opened and closed a few time.

"Roy, I-" Ed's voice quaked as he finally began to respond. He looked away for a moment, a slight frown on his face when he turned back to Roy. "I'm, um, I l-" he stopped again, seeming to have an internal battle raging inside of him. Roy grew worried and when he gave him a look, one that practically screamed how sorry a person was. He felt his heart drop and he loosened his arms around the blonde. Ed hung his head. "I'm sorry. I do lo-like you a lot. I...I just, it's seems so...I just wasn't expecting...I'm sorry." His face flushed as he tried to explain himself, his sentences growing jumbled as his breathing quickened. When he got up suddenly, Roy let him go. He sighed and put his arm over his eyes as he heard the door to the library open and close.


	19. Courting

**So ello all!**

**First I want to tell you all that in addition to posting on DA and LJ I'm also now going to be posting on Adult FF ^w^**

**This chapter didn't take me too long to write, though I will admit I struggled with inspiration for it. Then I talked with Mii-ch4n (the editor) and talked through some of my old ideas and got some new ones mix in and I'm excited! Also she is working on a possible picture for this fic...X3 That also makes me excited XD**

**So I hope you all enjoy this chapter, the next one...well I certainly hope it will be written soon!**

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><p>Edward ran straight to his room, unintentionally slamming the door as he did so. Ed pressed his back to the door and let out a shuddering sigh as he slid down to the floor. His mind was racing, and yet it also seemed as though it was crawling ever so slowly. He kept mulling over what Roy had said to him.<br>_'He loves me? I must've heard him wrong...But I know I didn't.'_ Edward rubbed his flesh hand against his eyes. He groaned as he realized he had run out on Roy after he had confessed. _'It's not that I _don't_ like him,'_ Ed tried to defend himself, _'I just don't know it I _love_ him.'_

"Edward? Is something wrong?" the blonde jumped as he heard Rose's voice coming from the corner of the room.

"I'm fine." Ed looked up at her and smiled weakly. He stood and looked out the window at the snow. He thought it over for a moment before walking over to the wardrobe and asking, "Rose, can I have the warmest cloak you have?"

"But, Edward, I thought you didn't like the cold." She glanced between the window and the blonde, confused.

Ed shrugged. "I just need some fresh air right now." He took the cloak, which was a bit too big for him and swung it around his shoulders. Tying it, he looked back at Rose with a small smile for her worried expression. "I'll be fine. I won't be out too long, anyways."

Leaving the room, he quickly made his way down the hall and stairs to the door. Opening it just a crack, he shivered as snow was swept in by the wind. Frowning a little, Ed crept outside and quietly closed the door. Pulling up the hood of the heavy red cloak, Ed squinted as he tried to figure out where he wanted to go. He wouldn't leave the grounds -he didn't want to be attacked by wolves or who knows what else. He just wanted a place to think, away from everyone, somewhere it might take a little longer for the others to find him.

Edward hadn't spent time outside of the manor due to the bad weather, so he didn't know where to go or what to expect. After another moment, he stepped down the slippery steps and found himself wandering around the side of the manor. Golden eyes widened as they saw large hedges a little ways away from the manor. They appeared to make an entrance of sorts, maybe even a maze.

Taking large steps through the snowdrifts, he stopped just inside the entrance and was surprised at what he found. There was a small pavilion of sorts, its roof hidden from view to the outsider due to how high the hedges had grown. The snow was deep so Ed couldn't tell if the ground beneath him was supposed to be stone of grass. He walked further in, his flesh hand trailing along the frozen greenery, when he froze, hissing in pain.

Looking down at his hand, he found there was a small line of blood on his index finger. Ed looked to the hedge to find that it was no longer a hedge, but a smaller bush, also covered in snow with thorns. Glancing around the hedge-enclosed area, the blonde saw that the perimeter was lined with these bushes. Walking further in, he stepped under the pavilion's roof and brushed off the snow-covered bench before sitting on it. Looking around the enclosed area that somewhat protected him from the wind and snow, he returned to his thoughts.

_'Love is such a strong word. Does Roy truly mean that he loves me?'_ Ed crossed his arms over his chest and drew the cloak closer around him. _'I certainly feel something towards him, but...is it really love?'_

~/~/~

Roy continued to lay there, arm over his eyes as he heard Maes hop up to him.

"Roy, I'm sure he just-"

"Maes, I spoke too soon. I scared him off. I jumped to conclusions and I really shouldn't have." Roy sat up and rubbed his forehead before sighing. "I'm just going to go apologize. Maybe I'll still have a chance later on if I back off for a little while," the beast murmured as he stood up and straightened out his clothes...which, oddly enough, seemed baggier on him.

Maes hopped around him, frowning a little, "Edward was right, you do look different." The teapot's face suddenly brightened. "That means he must feel something for you in return! Or have in some way found out about how you feel for him beforehand...But how?"

"Roy," Jean drawled as he came up behind Maes, "your face seems a bit red, are you blushing?"

The beast cursed and looked away from his friends as he felt his face grow hotter. "I...I didn't know he was there, was all," Roy muttered quietly.

"Ooh, why? What'd he see?"

"Yeah, what'd he see?" The two began to hop in a circle around him and Roy growled lowly.

"Will you two stop acting like children?" Riza scolded as she slowly walked up. The two stopped and apologized as she turned to Roy. "So what _did_ he see?"

Roy growled again, but this time left the room in an attempt to find the other alchemist. Approaching the door, he took a deep breath and knocked quietly, not wanting to startle the blonde. Hearing nothing, he knocked a little harder, still nothing. "Edward? Can I come in?"

"He's not in here!" Roy was a tad startled to hear Rose's voice from within the room. He cursed quietly and was continuing down the hall, ready to check the other rooms, when Rose called out again. "He said he was going out!"

Roy froze and quickly turned back and opened the door to the blonde's room. "What do you mean?"

"W-well, he had said that he wanted to get some fresh air and asked me to give him the warmest cloak I have...Was I not supposed to do that?"

Roy shook his head and smiled a little at the confused wardrobe. "No, that's fine. About how long ago did he leave?"

"About ten minutes or so before you came in, sir."

"Thank you, Rose," Roy turned and let the door swing shut on its own. As he walked toward the stairs, he eyed his own cloak and hoped it would be thick enough.

Walking to the front door and breathing in the blonde's scent he chuckled lightly to himself. _'Of course he'd react this way. It was wrong for me to assume that his feelings for me were love. Especially when I've done so little to change our relationship.' _He winced at the sharp, cold wind that flung the door all the way open. _'I should have approached the situation differently. Perhaps stopping at the kiss and keeping the full confession to myself.'_  
>Roy couldn't pick up a scent with the wind blowing every which way, but he could faintly see small dips in the snow where Edward must have walked. The beast was relieved to see that the trail did not lead toward the gates, but instead, seemed to lead to the back of the manor.<p>

~/~/~

Edward shivered as he watched the wind blow the snow up past his ankles. The snow gradually melted into the fabric of his pants on his human leg, while the other metal one grew colder. He was slowly beginning to wish he had asked Rose for warmer pants and socks along with the cloak.

The blonde jumped when he felt a sudden warm weight on his shoulders. Looking up, he saw Roy and realized the warmth had come from Roy's own cloak. He opened his mouth to say something to him when Roy raised his hand a little and shook his head. Ed scooted over a little when Roy moved to sit down, and was surprised by how numb both his stump and his leg felt.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have told you my feelings toward you in such a way. I-"

"No, I'm sorry," Ed butted in. "I s-shouldn't h-have ran a-away like t-that and," he paused for a moment as he realized his teeth were chattering. "I-I do have f-feelings for you. I'm j-just not s-sure if-"

"If it's love?" Roy seemed to smile and nodded a little. "I should not have assumed that you had the same exact feelings for me." Despite the cold, Edward felt his cheeks warm up a little. "Edward, may I court you?"

The blonde nearly fell off the bench. "Court me?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, court you. I would like to spend some more time with you that doesn't have to include normal meals or studying in the library. Though I do enjoy those times, too. So Edward, will you let me?"

Edward blinked up at Roy's dark blue eyes before nodding slowly, a small smile forming on his face. "Yeah, sure."

When Roy reached out and took his mismatched hands in his own warm ones, Edward was a bit surprised at how they felt less like pads and more like flesh. His breath caught in his throat when Roy's face grew closer. Ed closed his eyes, not sure what to expect, and gasped quietly when he felt lips press against his cheek.

"Thank you, Edward," he heard Roy murmur as he pulled back. He then stood, keeping Ed's hands in his. "Now let's get back to the manor. You need to warm up before you get buried in the snow."

The blonde's eyebrow twitched. "Very funny, Bastard." He went to stand, but gasped and fell into Roy, cursing slightly. "The gears in my leg must have frozen," Ed explained to Roy who held onto him, one hand had moved to his waist to help hold the blonde up. He was going to say more when he was picked up.

"You've got to be more careful, Edward." The blonde could see a mix of worry and amusement in Roy's eyes. "I think we have some oil you can use for maintenance."

Ed nodded and tugged both his and Roy's cloak closer to himself, wincing as he felt the joints in his automail locking up. "Thanks Roy," Ed murmured as he lay his head against Roy's shoulder as the beast began carrying him back to the manor.

~/~/~

Roy laid Ed down on the sofa in the sitting room. Snapping his fingers, he quickly got a fire going in the fireplace and he left the blonde there to see Rose about a fresh set of warm clothes. On his way up, he saw Maes and Jean and asked them if Maes would mind making some hot chocolate, and if Jean would find some oil for Ed's automail. The teapot and candelabra's faces were shocked and Roy knew it was because he was in a better mood so quickly.  
>Quickly returning to the sitting room, he found Jean already there, having brought the oil.<p>

"Thanks," he watched as Ed stood carefully and stretched out his automail limbs. "They feel a lot better now." Roy stood in the doorway, ignoring the odd look Jean was shooting him. He stared at Ed for a moment, watching how the firelight cast soft shadows on the younger's skin and lit up both his eyes and hair in the dim room. "Roy?"

The beast jumped at the sound of his name. Seeing it had been Ed who had spoken, he smiled and walked further into the room. "I've got you some dry clothes from Rose, I'll go check on the hot chocolate and be back in a few minutes, alright?" Roy asked as he handed the clothes to Ed. When he nodded and began to undress, Roy left the room. Once he was in the kitchen he found, much to his dismay, that his friends had all gathered there.

"So what's got you in such a good mood? He _did_ reject you, if you didn't notice." Jean questioned the moment the door to the kitchen closed.

Roy sighed and shook his head a little at his friend's bluntness. "Yes, he did reject me, but that's because I jumped to conclusions too quickly, and-"

"Roy, we all know he's jerked off to the thought of you before. What we don't understand is why he ran." Maes hopped over, steaming from being on the stove.

That's when Roy realized that they all must have felt somewhat betrayed by this turn of events. Believing they were about to return to their normal lives, and then having it snatched away in a matter of moments.

"He's not sure if what he feels is love or not," Roy explained as he got two of the non-living mugs down from the cupboard. "And when I tried to change the relationship we had as friends so suddenly, he felt he had to run."

"Well that's great and all, but it's not gonna get us back to being human."

Riza and Gracia turned to scold Jean.

"You've got to think of Edward's feelings too. He'll be affected by all of this nearly as much as we will be." Gracia huffed as she went back to helping the dishes get washed.

Seeing Jean roll his eyes at her, Roy sighed and picked Maes up, pouring the hot chocolate into the mugs. "I've asked Edward it he would allow me to court him," Roy paused for a moment as he felt the eyes of his friends on him. Setting Maes back down, he smiled and continued, "he said yes."

"Well then what are you waiting for?" Maes carefully nudged the mugs closer to Roy. "Get back to him already!"

Still smiling, Roy nodded and took the mugs, walking out of the kitchen. He stood outside of the sitting room for another few moments, wanting to be sure Ed was done changing...Though he certainly wouldn't have minded watching the blonde dress...or undress. Shaking his head lightly, he turned into the room and found Ed sitting on the couch with a blanket around his shoulders, wet clothes in a pile on the floor, and saw that he was staring at his hands.

As he sat down, watching the blonde, he realized he wasn't staring, but glaring down at his mismatched hands.

"Is the automail bothering you?" Roy asked quietly.

"A little more than normal," Ed admitted. The beast was glad he had decided to sit to the blonde's right as he handed him a mug and then wrapped his left arm around Edward's shoulders. He could feel Ed shiver a little, before pressing into Roy.

As they sat there, sipping at their drinks, Roy draped another blanket across their laps. He found he was perfectly content just sitting there, watching the fire with Edward drawn close to his side.

~/~/~

Envy snarled as he stared down into the looking-glass.

"What's wrong, dear?" Dante asked as she walked up beside him. She gasped and stiffened as she saw the two alchemists snuggling close to each other.

"He's still alive?" She shouted, turning to Envy, who rose his hands in defense.

"I was just checking on the flame boy like you told me to and then I saw _that,_" he spat out. "_My_ Edward near that thing."

Dante frowned. "They appear to be much closer as well. He might even break the spell."

Envy's eyes flared. "No. My Edward will not fall in love with him. I won't allow it!"

"Shush, Envy," Dante walked closer to the glass as Envy stormed away from it. "We'll have to retrieve him soon."

"Then I can have him?" The green haired man asked excitedly.

"Yes, then you can have him. Once I'm done with him." Dante smirked at the sight, watching as Edward rubbed his cheek against Roy's arm. "After I get his knowledge from you," Dante murmured quietly, stroking the reflection Ed's cheek. "There won't be much of you left."


	20. Icy Birthday

**Soooo sorry this took so long. It's been hard to find time to type lately. I have the next three chapters written, just need to type them up!**

**So in the past...long time two...three?(oh GOD!) months since I last posted...**

**I've started college. It's busy...**

**I'm bi, and dating my editor and RP partner Mii-ch4n (or the old Meep) ^^**

**aaand...yeah. Lot's of homework and two essays (have yet to start either) due monday...that'll be fun.**

**I apologize again for this taking so long. I'll do my very best to have the next chapter out next...Sunday or Monday. (I have midterms next week...)**

* * *

><p>"Gracia, is the breakfast nearly done?" Roy asked as he peeked into the kitchen.<p>

"Just about," the teapot responded as she ushered a teacup onto the serving tray. Pouring Edward's favorite tea into it, she nodded as the sugar cup let a few cubes fall into the tea. "I've made his favorites and I'll start on the dinner soon."

The kitchen staff was going to be busy all day making food for Edward's birthday. No one, not even Elysia, had told the blonde that there were plans for his special day.

"Roy, it's ready."

The beast nodded and picked up the tray of pancakes for both him and Edward, before heading towards the stairs. He had plans of serving Edward in bed, figuring that it would be a nice way for Ed to start his day.

He'd been courting Edward for a little over a week now, and it was going quite well in Roy's opinion. He didn't pressure Ed into anything he didn't want to do. He and Ed had for the most part continued on as usual. They studied Roy's fire alchemy together, so much so that Roy hoped he could perhaps have Edward practice the circles soon. Every night they had taken to sitting together in the sitting room, drinking hot chocolate while the fire kept them warm. Roy was now able to wrap an arm around Ed's shoulders without the blonde flinching. In fact, Edward had taken to curling up beside him when he'd have an arm around him.

Carefully opening the door to Edward's room, Roy peeked in and smiled as he saw that the younger alchemist was still in bed. Raising a finger to his lips, he was ready to silence Rose, but found that she too was still asleep. Setting the tray onto Edward's dresser, Roy sat on the bed, beside the blonde's side.  
>Edward's hair was free of both ponytail and braid so it was draped across his face. Smiling, Roy -careful of his claws- pulled the golden hair out of Ed's eyes and behind his ear. He had expected to see a peaceful look on the blonde's sleeping face, but was shocked to see a deep frown instead, and that his lips were turned downward as tears rolled down his cheeks. He heard the blonde mumble quietly in his sleep as he turned his head from side to side.<p>

"Ed," Roy murmured quietly as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Edward, you need to wake up now." He shook Ed's metal shoulder lightly and heard him whimper. It tore Roy up to see Edward like this. He shook him a little harder and was relieved to see golden eyes snap open as Ed jolted into a sitting position.  
>Roy moved his hand to the side of the blonde's metal arm. "Are you alright, Edward?" Roy questioned as the hand then moved off his arm and onto his back, rubbing it soothingly.<p>

"Y-yeah, I think so," Ed mumbled as he rubbed away the tears in his eyes and leaned back into Roy's touch a little. "It was just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roy offered, getting himself a bit closer.

Edward shook his head a little too quickly. "No, it's fine. Thanks, though." He turned to look at Roy with a small smile.

~/~/~

As Ed smiled at Roy he asked, "Did you need me for something?" Roy normally did not come into his room; he usually waited for him downstairs at the table.

When Roy nodded, he felt his interest pick up and the sleepy remains of the dream went to the back of his mind. He was confused as the man's face grew closer to his. Just when he was about to question him, he felt lips against his cheek, close to his own lips. Ed's jaw dropped a little as he blinked and heard Roy say, "Happy birthday."

"Birthday?" Ed echoed quietly, his head tilting a little.

"Yes, Edward," the beast chuckled. "February third."

Ed flushed as he realized Roy was right. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten that his birthday was coming up so soon. "Right, thanks."

He watched as Roy stood and walked over to his dresser. Smiling to himself, he thought back on the past week. He found that his feelings for Roy were growing quickly and he immensely enjoyed being around him. He especially liked the warm tingly feelings that danced across his skin at Roy's touch and how his heart seemed to beat a little faster. If he thought about it, he realized that these reactions he had to Roy had been happening for a while.

_'Maybe today I'll tell him,'_ Edward thought to himself as Roy turned back around with a tray of tea and pancakes.

"Roy, you didn't have to do this," Ed laughed quietly as Roy sat back down, placing the tray in between them.

"I wanted to," Roy replied simply, the warm smile on his lips reaching his dark blue eyes. "I even have a few surprises planned for you."

"Really now? And what might those be?" Edward asked as he picked up his plate.

"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise."

Rolling his eyes, Ed took a bite of a pancake. "Yeah, yeah."

~/~/~

After Roy had cleaned up the dishes and put them back on the tray to take back to the kitchen later, Roy stood.

"I'll be back in a few minutes with a gift for you." Roy pecked Ed's cheek and watched as a blush formed on his face.

He quickly left the room, dropped the tray off in the kitchen, and hurried back to his room. He put on one of his warmest cloaks, pants, and shirts -all alchemically sized to fit his slightly slimmer form. Grabbing the wrapped gift for Ed, he quickly returned to the blonde's room. He found Ed just finishing making his bed and knocked on the door lightly.

"Oh," he jumped a little and turned around to glare lightheartedly at Roy. "You could make a little more noise, ya know, Bastard?"

Roy chuckled. "But then I wouldn't get to see the adorably shocked look on your face." He took some amusement in watching Edward's face change different colors of red. "Here, its part of your present," he walked into the room and handed the gift to Ed. Thanking him, Ed began to unwrap the present. Roy watched as he pulled out a thick red cloak, followed by a pair of pants, shirt, gloves and socks.

"What's all this for?" Edward asked with a small smile.

"The pants and shirt are thicker around your automail to trap the cold there; it shouldn't be able to sap the warmth from your body anymore. The socks and gloves are also thicker than your normal ones. If you'll put them on, we can get to the next part of your present."

Ed looked up at him with wide eyes. "There's more?" he stood from his bed and gathered all but the cloak and went behind the changing screen.

It took Roy a moment to formulate an answer as he was shocked that the blonde was willing to change with him in the same room. "Uh, yes. A few outdoor activities is all," he murmured slowly as he watched Edward's outline as he stripped down. He tried to look away from the screen and be polite, but he just could not drag his eyes away.

~/~/~

Edward was amazed by the comfortable snugness of his new clothes. Part of him wanted to twirl around in them, see how flexible they would allow him to be, but he could feel Roy's gaze on him. He was surprised at how he was perfectly fine with Roy watching him undress…though it _could_ have been because there was a screen between them.

"You're not going to be any more specific are you?" he teased as he walked around the screen. Seeing that Roy was about to answer, he raised his hand and shook his head. "No, that's alright. I want to be surprised," Ed assured with a small smile.

He hadn't been out in the snow to play in years; not since the winter before the accident. The automail interfered too much and took the fun of the snow away. Aching and making his stumps freeze and get frostbitten; it just wasn't worth it. But Roy had made him special clothes to wear and had plans; he could handle the pain to make Roy happy.

Putting on the boots and gloves, he looked around for his new red cloak. Turning, he saw that Roy was holding it out for him. Smiling, Ed turned around and closed his eyes as he felt Roy tie the cloak securely around his neck. He opened them and was surprised to find darkness until he realized Roy had flipped his hood up as well.

"Funny, Bastard," he flipped the hood down and turned around, glaring lightly at the man who was laughing quietly.

"It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Edward shivered and closed his eyes as he felt Roy's hand, softer and feeling more human that the day before, cupping his cheek. He was surprised when he felt Roy's breath against his lips as he said, "You just looked too cute."

Edward's breath hitched and he forgot to be angry about being called 'cute.' He found himself longing to feel Roy's lips pressed against his. He unconsciously began to lean in closer and closer. Ed bit back the sound of disappointment in his throat as he felt Roy's lips against his cheek. They stayed there for a few moments before Roy pulled back and took Ed's hand with a smile. Ed returned it and squeezed Roy's hand as they exited the bedroom.

As they made their way down to the door, Edward's face grew a bit red as he thought of other places he'd have enjoyed Roy's lips being. He shook his head and nearly ran into Roy's back as he opened the door.

He heard Roy chuckle softly as he was led out of the manor. Ed looked around and watched as the snow fell calmly and the wind blew gently, nothing like the previous days of winter. The snow was deep, in some places it was up past his knees. Edward shivered and felt his head be enveloped in warmth. He raised his flesh hand and felt the soft inside of his hood. Smiling, but not turning around Ed murmured, "Thanks."

The small blonde was shocked when he felt a cold, solid mass hit him square in the back. Ed let out a small shriek and spun around to see that Roy was doubled over laughing at him. "What the hell was that for, Bastard?" Ed shouted.

~/~/~

Roy couldn't help but laugh louder as he saw the blonde's face turn bright red. "I'm sorry, Ed, but I couldn't let an opportunity like that pass." He wiped a tear from his eye and looked up to see a snowball coming his way quickly. It hit him dead on in the face. Shaking it off he looked around for the red cloaked blonde, but only found white.

"Edward?" Roy's voice held a worried tone until he saw the footsteps that led behind him. As he heard the crackle of alchemy, he turned to see Edward forming a cannon of sorts. "Now that's cheating, Edward!" However Roy was ready for this game. As the large snowball was launched, he ducked down and quickly drew his own transmutation circle. Activating it, he launched a snowball at Ed. The two continued to volley back and forth until Roy noticed Ed's were beginning to come at a slower, more uneven pace.

Roy deactivated his transmutation and called out to Edward, "Let's take a break." The cannon near Ed returned to normal snow within a moment and he saw the red cloak fall back. "Ed!" Roy ran over to Edward and knelt beside him. The blonde lay on his back, his eyes were closed and his cheeks were flushed. Roy watched hesitantly as Edward's chest rose and fell slowly. "Edward?" Roy brushed away some snow that had landed on the younger alchemist's cheek.

"I'm fine, Roy," the blonde murmured, raising a hand to Roy's. "Just tired out."

Roy chuckled weakly in relief. "Perhaps we should have stuck with the original version of a snowball fight."

"That would've been less fun," Roy was happy to see that despite how tired his body seemed to be, Edward's eyes still glowed in excitement.

"You were able to hold out for a while there," Roy commented, laying on his side next to Edward.

"Yeah, I did those tips you told me about, and they work a lot better than how I used to do things." Ed smiled and closed his eyes. "Though I'm still tired, think we could take a break before we move onto the next surprise?"

Roy chuckled. "I suppose we can. The next activity I was going to suggest was snow angels."

"Really? Snow angels?" Edward began to move his arms and legs slowly through the snow. "I suppose that this won't be too tiring."

Roy followed suit and moved his own limbs. When his hand accidently touched Ed's, he realized he was in the blonde's area. He began to scoot over when he felt the soft wool of Edward's glove wrap around his hand. He looked over, confused for a moment until Ed smiled and began to move his arm up and down in the snow again, dragging Roy's with it.

"They'll be together," Roy smiled softly at what Edward said and nodded.

After a few minutes, their movements slowed to a stop Roy looked Ed over thoughtfully; taking note of his reddened nose and how his body would shiver occasionally.

"We should go inside, I heard that Gracia was making some stew for dinner, we might be able to grab a little for lunch." Roy offered hoping that Ed would agree and go inside to get warmed up. He didn't have to worry as the blonde nodded eagerly and sat up. Roy got up and stepped carefully out of his angel and turned around to find that Edward was still sitting there. Roy held out a hand and held onto Ed's wrist, pulling the younger into a standing position and helping him step out of his own angel.

"Thanks, I'm horrible with stepping out of those. Normally I walk all over it and ruin it." Ed said as he allowed himself to be pulled against Roy's chest.

"My pleasure," Roy murmured as he looked down at the two figures.

Ed's looked like a snow angel should, while Roy's -well- he admitted his looked like a blob. And the point where their hands had met made it look as though the blob was trying to absorb the angel. Roy frowned and turned away from it.

When Edward squeezed his hand, before letting go, Roy turned to look at him. Ed stepped away from him and walked over to Roy's figure. Roy was half hoping that the teen would ruin it, but instead he watched as Edward drew eyes and a smile where his face had been. The blonde then carefully walked over to his own, added a fwing in addition to eyes and a mouth. When Ed walked back to him, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it tightly, smiling; Roy couldn't help but return it.

"How about we go grab some of that stew?" Ed suggested and Roy chuckled softly before nodding and he lead the blonde back to the manor.

~/~/~

Dante was working on her transmutation circle design, alone in her forest home.

"Perhaps I can place the Elric boy here?" she asked herself about to write it down before shaking her head. "No, that would interfere with the carbon."  
>If she were to get the information from the boy successfully, and get another small philosopher's stone, it needed to be perfect.<p>

Dante glanced up at her mirror. She had been watching the blonde all day and frowned at how close the two were. _'I'll have to make sure he doesn't say anything. It'll ruin all my plans if he does.'_ She had multiple long distance arrays ready to use and her small fragment of the philosopher's stone that she still had would ensure the transmutations' success.

Seeing that at the moment there was nothing for her to worry about, she turned her attention back to her circle.

~/~/~

Edward had been surprised when after lunch, Roy handed him a pair of ice skates.

"There's a pond on the far south side of the estate. I figured we could end the afternoon with skating," Roy explained to the blonde who had been tying on his cloak.

"You sure about this, Roy?" At the look of confusion on the man's face, he continued a bit reluctantly. "My automail, it'll break the ice." Seeing Roy shake his head, it was Ed's turn to be confused.

"I've already taken care of that. I've frozen the entire pond; it won't break under you, Edward." Roy explained with a smile, placing his hand on the blonde's shoulder and rubbing it gently.

"Alright," Ed took the skates from Roy and followed him out the back of the manor. They laced up their skates and Roy guided Ed out to the center of the pond.

"I haven't done this in ages," Edward murmured as he clutched onto Roy's arm.

Roy carefully took hold of one hand and Ed hesitantly let go of his arm and took his other hand. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

Ed shivered a little at the low tone Roy's voice held and could feel his cheeks warm up a bit. True to his word, Roy stayed near him and caught him the few times he slipped or his leg went out from under him.

The sun was beginning to set and Ed had a bright smile on his face as he glided over to Roy. Laughing when Roy caught him and brought him into his chest, Edward held onto Roy's shoulders.

"Today was great, Roy," Edward said into the beast's shirt.

"I'm glad, Ed," he smiled more as he felt Roy's hand going up and down his back.

The blonde moved back a little and looked into Roy's eyes. Feeling strong hands squeeze his arms for a moment, his mouth opened as if her were going to say something. _'Should I tell him now? Is this the time? I...'_ Edward's thoughts paused as he heard a faint crackling sound that was slowly growing louder. _'It's gotta be time.'_

"Roy," he could see the man's eyes widening at the serious tone that had suddenly come into his voice. "There's something I have to say, I-ah!"

Ed let out a shocked gasp as he suddenly fell into freezing cold water. He realized now that the crackling sound had been the ice and that now he was sinking fast.

'_Shit,'_ he struggled against the pull of his automail for a few moments, trying to swim upward. He gave up, with his arm outstretched to the hole he'd fallen from, trying to find Roy's figure before his vision went dark.

Roy stared in shock at where Edward had been standing only moments ago. The blonde had literally slipped through his fingers. He wasted only another moment staring before he dove in after Ed.

_'This shouldn't have happened. The transmutation worked I know it! And why wouldn't I fall in as well?'_ The thoughts ran through Roy's mind as he swam deeper into the pond.

He could see Ed now; his long blonde hair had come undone and was swirling around his head. Roy was horrified to find that the blonde's mouth was open and his eyes were closed. Roy pushed himself to go further, grabbing Ed's still outstretched hand, and Roy struggled to pull him up. As he wrapped Ed's arm around his shoulders, he could feel his lungs burning at the lack of oxygen.

He kicked hard and did his best to reach the perfect hole in the ice. With a large burst of adrenaline, he was able to get his head out of the water. Taking a deep breath, he shoved Ed onto the ice before climbing out on top of him.

"Ed," Roy gasped still trying to make up for the lack of oxygen. "Edward," blue eyes stared in horror to see that Ed's face was already turning blue. "No!"

Roy tilted Ed's head back and plugged his nose as he took a deep breath and pressed his lips hard over the blonde's. Breathing into Ed, before leaning back a little to press his hands against his chest and pushed down hard several times.

"You can't die Ed, not like this," Roy growled before he breathed into his mouth again.

Just as he was about to give up his frantic attempts, he heard the small alchemist make a quiet choked noise. Roy pulled back and moved Ed quickly so that he was laying on his side, tilting his head toward the ground. Moments after the blonde's back curled as he started throwing up the water and hacking miserably. Roy rubbed Edward's back soothingly, wincing at the retching sounds he made, but glad the blonde was breathing again.

"Wha-" the blonde's voice was raspy and sounded like it hurt to speak. "What happened?"

Roy didn't answer for a minute, just reveling in the pale color in Ed's face, and the small rise and fall of his chest. "The ice cracked beneath you, and I don't know how; I'm so sorry, Ed. I don't know what happened to the transmutation." Roy cupped Edward's cheek and rubbed his thumb against it. Glancing back at the hole, which wasn't as far away as he had first thought. The hole was a perfect circle, and there were no cracks anywhere else. It just didn't make sense.

"R-Roy?" He looked back down as he felt small shivers ripple through his body. "C-can we g-go in? I-it's c-cold."

"Of course," Roy scooped him up, only beginning to feel the cold himself. Holding the teen close to his chest, he quickly made his way to the manor, now focused on making sure the blonde in his arms was alright."

~/~/~

Edward sipped at the tea Roy had gotten him as he lay back against his pillows in bed.

"Roy, I'm alright now, really," Ed murmured quietly, his throat hurting if he were to speak louder than a whisper. The beast had gotten him medicine in case he got a fever, had helped him into warm clothes and hadn't left his bedside except to change his own clothes and to get things for Ed.

"But it's my fault, you nearly died and-" he quieted when Edward placed a finger on his lips.

"But I'm also alive because of you," he smiled a little. "And no, this didn't ruin my birthday, it was just an unfortunate blip. I had a lot of fun today, Roy. Thank you."

"I'm not sure I deserve your thanks," Roy murmured against Ed's finger. "But I'm glad you enjoyed your day." Ed watched as Roy glanced to his bedside clock. "The stew should be ready now, I'll go get it." The blonde nodded and watched as Roy stood and headed toward the door.

"Roy?" Edward's voice broke in the middle of saying the beast's name. Roy turned and when Ed motioned for him to come back over to the bed, he did so. "Closer," he whispered and Roy leaned over him. Weakly grabbing onto the lapels on Roy's shirt and pulling him down, Edward tilted his head to the side and kissed Roy.

He could feel him tense with shock, but Roy slid a hand around to cradle his head a moment later. Edward moaned quietly as he felt Roy's tongue slide past his lips and into his mouth. His eyes fluttered a little as they parted. His breath came in short, little pants and his cheeks were stained a dark red. Edward leaned closer to Roy again, but this time tilted his head up to whisper in his ear, "Thank you."


	21. The Nightmare

**Hello all! Here is a new chapter! (not on the date I promised...but...)**

**So I have a poll on my profile that would be lovely if you all took part in, even if you don't have an account, please vote! It'll help me to pick which fairy tale idea to go with for my next chapter fic after Beauty and the Bastard. ^^ (the end is still pretty far off...XD)**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter (sorry its a tad bit short, next one is longer!)**

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><p>Edward woke up to screaming in the middle of the night. His room was still dark, he was still in bed, but for some reason...he was upright. It took him several more moments to realize that the screaming was coming from him.<p>

Quickly clamping his hand over his mouth, he looked around his room. As he had noted earlier, it was still dark, and no one other than the still-sleeping wardrobe that was Rose was in the room. No hunched-over old lady to be seen. His eyes widened as he grabbed for his right shoulder and felt...metal. He let out a gusty sigh of relief. Bringing his knees into his chest, he wrapped his flesh arm around them and brushed his sweat-soaked bangs out of his face with the cold automail.

The dream had been haunting him since his birthday, growing more and more grotesque and lifelike each night. Slowly, tears began to form and fall from his eyes. He'd nearly do anything to stop the images, the memories, from resurfacing in such horrible detail. Sniffling a little, he moved his flesh hand to his face as well and shook his head a little as his shoulders heaved in a heavy sob.

Ed heard a brief knock and the opening of his bedroom door, and he couldn't help the way he flinched until he heard a soft baritone voice murmur, "Edward?"  
>The blonde looked up and tried to wipe away his tears before Roy could see them. The man crossed the room quickly and sat by Ed's side, taking him into his arms.<p>

"Ed, what happened? What's wrong?"

Edward sighed into Roy's chest fur and rubbed his face into it, not wanting to talk at the moment. Roy didn't push him further and Ed slowly relaxed as the man rubbed his back with one hand and stroked his hair with the other.

"I've been having these dreams for a while now. It was a memory," Ed murmured suddenly, startling both himself and Roy. "Or, well, more of a nightmarish memory."

"The crash?"

Ed nodded, then shook his head a little. "It was, and it wasn't," he pulled back a little and looked into Roy's eyes before looking down at his lap. "Mom is still alive when I wake up; she's screaming in pain and is trying to reach out to me." Ed took a deep breath and for a moment tried to focus on the gentle way Roy was rubbing his arm. Closing his eyes, he continued, "And then, this old lady steps in front of me, just a few feet from Mom. I'm crying out for her to help, but she just laughs. She points at me and says that soon I will feel pain like my mother had, and that she will be coming for me. And soon."

Edward found that he was shaking again and tried to lean into Roy's chest for comfort, but was held back. He looked up at Roy, confused and grew more so as he saw a odd, worried look in the man's eyes.

"Roy?"

~/~/~

The beast couldn't help but stare into Edward's amber eyes and feel a great wave of fear for him.

"What did she look like, Edward?" Roy's voice was hushed.

"My mother?" Edward frowned and his face twisted as he tried to get out of Roy's grasp.

"No, no, no," Roy shook his head and held on tighter to the blonde's arms. "The old lady, Edward."

Ed frowned again, though more thoughtfully this time. "She had silvery-grey hair, I think. Um, it was in a bun on top of her head. She wore a pale blue dress, a pink shawl, and..." Roy stopped breathing as Edward described the woman who had cursed him. "An odd choker, sort of necklace. It had a tiny red stone in it, though it looked as though a bigger stone should have been there."

Roy's eyes darted around the room. _'How could she have control of his dreams? What does she want with him? As much pain as his mother had been in?'_

"Roy!" The beast blinked and drew in a sharp breath, realizing that Ed held his face in his hands and was nose-to-nose with him. "Roy, what's wrong? What's the big deal about the old lady?"

"Nothing." At the disbelief on the blonde's face, he continued, "I'll tell you later, but for now I think it would be best if you came to bed with me."

"What?" Ed's eyes went wide and a faint blush grew on his cheeks. It took Roy a moment to process what he had just said.

"I, er, I mean that," he coughed and could feel the skin beneath his fur warm up. "I meant that perhaps if you had a change of scenery you would have better dreams." He brushed aside the thought that Ed could easily just move into a new guest room if he wanted.

"Sure..I guess, if you don't mind," Ed's face was still a dark red. Roy helped him out of bed and noticed how he shivered when his bare foot touched the ground.

"Hold on a moment," Roy went behind the changing screen and grabbed a robe and a pair of slippers for Ed. Handing them to the blonde, he watched as he put them on before placing his hand on the small of Edward's back.

~/~/~

Edward took the comfort Roy offered and though the manor was chilly at night, he enjoyed the quick, quiet walk to the man's room.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you tonight," he murmured once they had gotten into the bedroom. "I don't think I could have stood being left alone."

"Of course, Edward. I wouldn't leave you alone after that anyways." Ed thought to question why Roy said what he did, but instead chose to shrug it off as well as his robe and slipped into Roy's bed. He curled up there in the large bed and stared at Roy and the glowing rose before his eyes closed.

~/~/~

Roy couldn't help the small smirk that leaked onto his face at the sight of Edward sleeping in his bed. To him, it just looked so right...

He shook his head and glared at the rose. Dante wanted something with Edward. _His_ Edward.

_'As much pain as his mother was in...' _Roy frowned and paced the room quietly. _'She tried to kill him.'_ The thought popped into his head and he froze for a moment. _'The ice. It's the only explanation.'_ He had no proof toward it; however his gut told him it was.

Roy walked over to the bed and sat down beside Ed, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "I can't let her get to you," he murmured quietly as he watched Ed sleep for a bit longer. The thought of Dante taking Edward from him and hurting him made his heart sting and burn in anger and fear.

If the woman had been able to transform him and his friends and staff into what they were today, what on Earth was she planning to do to Ed?

As his hand trailed down the blonde's cheek to his neck, his eyes widened a bit. _'He mentioned a red stone...'_ Roy could remember how she looked perfectly. The stone she had worn when she cursed him had been large, the size of a strawberry perhaps. However Ed described it as small...Could it be that she has a philosopher's stone?

Roy felt a sharp pang in his chest as he stared down at Edward. It was possible that she had plans of using Ed to create a new stone...but that stone would still be tiny. She would need more sacrifices than just Ed, Roy attempted to reassure himself.

He slowly crawled beneath the covers and wrapped his arms tightly around Edward, drawing him close. _'I'll teach him how to activate the circles in the morning.'_ He placed a soft kiss on the sleeping blonde's forehead. _'He needs to be able to protect himself if I can't be there for him.'_

Roy sighed and closed his eyes, being able to feel and smell Edward so close to him helped the beast to fall asleep.


	22. A Spark

**It must be the end of the world if I am posting a new chapter right? – I assume it isn't, as I'm not dead…**

**I am sooo sorry. There's not a very good reason as to why it took so long to post this.**

**Or well there's excuses? – I got a job at a very busy department store for the holidays**

**-I've been in college**

**-I finished my finals…a week ago**

**….hmmm but the good news is that I have up to chapter 24 written and merely needs to be typed and edited. ^^**

**Thank you all soooo much for your reviews, favorites, and follows, I love them all!**

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><p>Edward woke up slowly and a little disoriented. He'd become so used to jolting awake from nightmares, that waking up so calmly was unusual for him. He was comfortably warm and felt almost at peace. Sighing happily he opened his eyes and saw black. Ed was confused, until he felt furry arms tighten around him and warm puffs of air against his forehead. Pulling his head back a little, he saw that his head had been tucked into Roy's neck.<p>

He wiggled slowly back a bit so he could see Roy's face. Smiling a little, he raised a hand to Roy's cheek and stroked the soft, thin fur there. _'What does he really look like? What does he look like underneath the fur?'_ Edward's hand rose to Roy's ear. _'What do his human ears look like?'_ He rubbed the silky fur of Roy's ear, and smiled softly. _'He doesn't look that bad as a beast.'_ His hand returned to Roy's face, tracing the thick eyebrows and slowly moving down to trace the bridge of Roy's nose. _'I...I don't mind how he looks, really. He's a caring person.'_ Ed thought back to the previous night where Roy had come running into his room to make sure he was alright. How he took care of him when he fell through the ice two weeks ago. How Roy had saved him from the wolf chimeras..._'He might've been keeping me here against my will before, but now...I just want to help him.'_ Edward traced Roy's lips with his fingertips before laying his head back down.

Edward raised his hand again and rubbed Roy's ears gently as he watched the beastly man sleep. After a few minutes, Edward could see a slight rise and fall in the blankets behind Roy and could hear an almost steady thumping noise. Edward chuckled quietly as he realized it was Roy's tail and then realized he must have woken Roy up.

Just as he was lowering his hand, Roy's voice rumbled sleepily, "Don't stop." Edward laughed a little louder and put his hand back over Roy's ear. After a few more moments, Roy opened his eyes and Ed stared up into them. "You sleep better?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, thanks for letting me stay in here."

"Anytime you want to, Edward, you are welcome in here."

Edward's eyes widened as he heard what Roy was implying. "Though, I would appreciate it if you would not touch the rose when you're in here. It...I just don't know what would happen if it was touched. You could be hurt, the spell could become permanent...I just don't want to mess with it."

Edward nodded slowly at the serious tone Roy was using. "Alright, I'll stay away from the rose, and thank you."  
>Roy smiled and nodded, pressing a soft kiss to Ed's forehead. "We should probably get downstairs for breakfast," Roy murmured while sitting up.<p>

~/~/~

After sitting up, Roy paused, thinking over how he should say the next bit to Ed. "Edward, I would...I believe you know enough flame alchemy to start learning the circles."

"Really?"

Roy smiled at the excitement in the blonde's voice but was confused when it was subdued a little. "Um, could you tell me why you freaked out about my dream last night?"

Roy sighed as he got out of bed and tossed Ed his robe. "I'll explain it to you at breakfast," he mumbled reluctantly.

"Promise?" Ed asked as he leaned forward on the bed, staring Roy in the eyes with a serious expression on his face.

A small smile cracked onto Roy's face. "Yes, Ed, I promise."

"Good," the blonde quickly pulled on the robe and slid his feet into his slippers. Roy watched as Edward walked over to him and wrapped his flesh arm around Roy's, pulling slightly. "Come on, let's go."

Roy chuckled and walked with Ed to the door. "You go get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." He watched as Ed pouted and pulled away. He grew confused as Edward put both of his hands on his upper arms and stood on his toes and...kissed him. By the time Roy had closed his eyes and was just about to press back, Ed moved away and walked down the hall with a small wave.

Roy sighed with a soft smile before ducking back into his room. He quickly changed into a dark navy blue pair of pants and a lighter blue, and a bit torn, shirt; before quickly making his way to the dining room, intent on getting there before Ed.

Peeking into the dining room, he was happy to see that the blonde had yet to come downstairs. Moving into the kitchen, he found everyone busily making breakfast, chatting quietly amongst themselves.

"We have a problem."

Everyone froze at the sound of Roy's voice and turned to look at him.

"What's wrong, Roy?" Maes asked as Gracia hopped over to where Elysia was.

"Dante is trying to get to Edward." He paused for a moment to look at the shocked faces of his friends. "She comes to him in his dreams and is threatening him."

"How do you know it's really the old hag? The kid's never seen her," Jean said skeptically.

"The way he described her, it was almost exactly how I remember her looking two years ago."

"What could she want with him, though?" Riza asked as she moved closer to Roy.

"It's possible that she knows how close we are to breaking the curse," Roy frowned at Jean's snort, but continued on. "So now she figures that if she takes him away..." Roy trailed off for a moment, thinking back to exactly what Ed had said. "She also said that he would feel pain similar to what his mother had felt as she burned to death. I'm...I'm afraid for Ed." It took a lot for him to confess that he wasn't sure he could protect him to someone other than himself.  
>The kitchen was quiet for a solemn minute.<p>

"Not too sure that there's much we can do, Roy," Maes said. Seeing the objection on Roy's face, he continued. "Roy, we don't have hands, we can't move very fast at all...We won't be able to protect Edward," his eyes lowered and Roy sighed, understanding now.

"Right, I'm sorry. I hope for this to be resolved soon..." he started.

"Just tell the kid about the curse! Tell him the requirements!" Jean demanded. "We can protect him if we're human, but 'til the kid says those damn three words we're all stuck like this!"

"Jean, I can't put that much pressure on him. I...I can't let him know...If he finds out..." Roy's tone grew worried as his eyes widened at the thoughts of all the possible outcomes.

"If Ed finds out," Riza spoke up, elbowing Jean. "Then his feelings could change drastically. He may come to hate Roy as well as the rest of us. He would believe that we've been leading him on only to become human again and that Roy does not truly love him. Then we are all surely doomed."

Jean hung his head. "I...I'm just tired of being a candle holder...I can't stand the thought of being like this forever."

"None of us can," Gracia whispered, looking sadly down at her daughter. "But if we force or rush Ed, it will only hurt us in the long run."

Roy felt a pang of sadness go through his heart at everything his friends had said. Lowering his eyes, he spoke again. "I plan to teach Edward flame alchemy today: how to activate the circles and whatnot. I'll be back later to pick up a few buckets of water..." Seeing the trays begin to load up for breakfast, Roy shook his head. "I'll take the plates out myself, thank you."

Taking the plates, Roy left the silent kitchen, and headed into the dining room.

~/~/~

Edward hurried down the stairs and into the dining room, a little surprised to see Roy starting to set the table. "Let me help," Edward murmured as he stepped up next to Roy. He could vaguely sense that something was wrong, but didn't want to pry. Taking the silverware and cloth napkins, Ed began to set his and Roy's places on the table.

Once they had both sat down, Ed slowly began to eat the hot porridge Gracia had made. After a moment, he realized that Roy was merely sitting there staring into his bowl, his fists clenched on the table. The blonde raised his own hand onto the table and covered Roy's fist. Once the man's attention was on him, he asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

He watched as Roy relaxed a little before saying, "I'm worried for you."

"Why?" The word tumbled from his mouth as he stared at Roy with a confused expression.

"It was Dante who came to you in your dream last night, the woman who made us be like this." Roy murmured quietly as he stared into Ed's eyes. "I'm worried as to why she wants you, what she wants you for, what plans she has for you."

Edward was struck by fear for a moment at how much power this Dante had to enter his dreams. It took him a moment to realize that Roy's fist under his hand had turned and was now holding his and that his other hand was covering the top, encasing Ed's hand between warm, thinly furred ones.

"I would like to start teaching you how to activate my circles, Ed."

Edward gained a slightly apprehensive look. "Ah, I don't know, Roy. Reading and researching them is fine...But to activate one?" Ed paused, as he looked at his food. "What if I lose control of the transmutation? I could burn down the manor-"

"I'll be there to help you, Edward. If I see that something isn't right, I'll have water nearby to stop the circle." Roy's thumbs rubbed across the top of Ed's hand comfortingly. "I won't let you get hurt, Ed. But you have to promise me that you won't practice the circles on your own until I tell you so."  
>Edward hesitated for a moment, more out of his fear of fire than anything else. "I promise."<p>

~/~/~

Roy led a very tense Edward down the west wing, stopping just a few doors short of the library. Opening the door slowly, he walked in first, snapping his fingers quietly to get the candles burning. He looked around the room with Edward; it had been several months before Edward had come to the manor since he had been in this room.

The ceiling, walls and floor were all made of stone, specifically made so that in case of an accident, the fire would not spread. The door was made of thick wood, and would take a long time to burn through. There was one shelf with copies of his notes, a large desk to draw out the sketch of the circles, chalk was everywhere, and there was plenty of floor space to draw the transmutation circles. There was a few different piles of burnable items, such as paper and wood, and a few bottles and test tubes of other things to make transmutations flow correctly.

Turning a little to look at Ed, Roy set down both pails of water. Ed's eyes were still slowly taking in the room.

"See, Edward? I've got everything prepared." He tossed the blonde some chalk.

"Yeah."

Roy didn't take any offense to the snappish way Ed had answered him. He was nervous -scared even- so the beast had expected this. Roy picked up some paper and chalk for himself and walked over to where Ed was before kneeling down. After a moment, Ed did the same.

Roy helped Ed draw one of the simpler arrays, talking softly with him as he did so. Once done, he sat back a little, dragging one of the buckets so that it was next to him. "Anytime you're ready. Just remember what I told you: calm mind -an even flow of energy to the circle will keep the flames in your control."

~/~/~

Edward nodded and chewed on his lower lip for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to clear his mind of his fear of fire. _'Maybe if I can control it, I won't be so afraid of it.'_

Ed clapped his hands and closed his eyes before opening them and quickly pressing his hands to the floor. The circle glowed and he could feel some of his energy being sucked out of him. After a few more moments, he moved his hands away and the light died out leaving behind...a still perfectly intact white piece of paper.

"What...Why did nothing happen? I know I felt the transmutation work!" Edward couldn't help but feel disappointed with himself, and he quickly checked the array again.

"That's normal, Ed, it took me several tries to get a spark going," Roy reached out and rubbed Edward's arm comfortingly. "Try it again, but a little more energy into it, it may take a few days to figure out how much energy it wants to take from you to activate successfully."

The blonde nodded slowly as he breathed in and out of his nose. "Alright," he clapped his hands together and lowered them to the circle. Once the tips of his fingers touched the cool ground, Ed focused all of his energy on it. This approach backfired, literally.

Ed cried out as flames erupted from the circle, engulfing the papers within seconds and were just as quickly reaching out to him. He closed his eyes and turned his head.

~/~/~

The moment he saw Ed touch the circle, he knew it was wrong. Roy grabbed the bucket as he saw fire not just spark on the paper, but explode and head straight for Ed. Quickly throwing the water in the bucket onto the circle, stopping the flames and washing away the transmutations. Roy then grabbed the shaking Edward and held him tightly, moving the wet blond hair away from his face. Checking the quaking blonde over for injuries, he lifted Ed's flesh hand and found the fingertips where an angry red and slightly blistered, but otherwise unharmed.

"Edward, it's alright," Roy murmured when he turned his gaze back to the blonde's face, seeing his golden eyes were still scrunched closed. When he did open his eyes, he looked fairly disoriented and confused as to why he was in Roy's arms. Clenching his hands, he winced as he felt the tips of the fingers brushed the skin of his palm.

"Just blistering a bit, we'll get ice for it before dinner," Roy assured. "Maybe next time you shouldn't apply so much of your energy at once?"

"I...I didn't think that would happen..." Edward's voice was still a bit off. Roy began to stroke his hair slowly in a comforting manner.

"You've got to keep an open mind and let the circle take what it needs. If you give it too much, you lose control, and the circle can no longer contain it."

"I...I want to try one more time. Is that alright?" He could tell Edward was nervous, not wanting the flames to jump out at him again.

"Of course." Roy set him down, dried the area up, redrew the circle, and placed some more paper on it. "Anytime you're ready, Ed."

Roy watched the blonde nod and slowly clap his hands one more time, and place them carefully on the circle. When the light from the circle faded, he heard a small, tired laugh come from Ed, and a warm smile grew on his face.

The paper in the circle was burning in a perfectly controlled manner.


	23. Transmutation Gone Wrong

**So, my parents got me Beauty and the Beast Diamond edition for Christmas and I've finally been able to enjoy it with my girlfriend a few days ago and am watching it again now (we left the day after Christmas for Florida for a family vacation...I missed my girlfriend sooo bad...but that's another story XD) after watching Tangled X3**  
><strong>Damn I love that movie. So, now I'm typing this, and watching it again on DVD for...3rd time (I watched it twice the first day).<strong>

**(sorry this chapter is short...its just how things panned out I guess when I wrote it XD)**

**And there just might be another chapter out before the 28th! (the day I go back to school DX) but don't set your hopes *too* high on that XD (it should be around that time though)**

**Oh, and if you notice I now have a picture for this fic! It was made for my by my lovely girlfriend Meep (or as she goes on her own here now Mii-ch4n) ehe X3**

**I hope you will all enjoy this chapter, thank you for all of your lovely reviews and favorites, they inspire me more than you know! **

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><p>"That was amazing Roy!" Edward exclaimed between eating his food. "I actually got it to work!"<p>

Roy smiled as his heart warmed at the sight of seeing Ed so excited. "I'm proud of you, Ed. That was a great start."

"So, when can I move on to the more complex circles?"

Roy thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe another week or two. I want to make sure you are able to control the simpler ones before we move on." Edward pouted a little but nodded as he looked down at the fingertips of his flesh hand. "Do you want me to get more ice?" Roy tilted his head to the side as he saw the still red skin.

"Nah, it's only a little sore now, not throbbing anymore." Edward smiled in Roy's direction before his face turned thoughtful again. "I'm still afraid of fire, but it felt a bit different when I had control over it. I was still scared, believe me, but..."

"You'll probably always have a fear of it, Edward. There's nothing wrong with that," Roy assured. "But I hope that you'll be able to lessen it through the use of my circles." At the smile Edward gave him, Roy felt his heart beat a little faster.

Edward yawned suddenly and rubbed his eyes.

"Do you want to skip the sitting room tonight?" Roy was a little disappointed, but understood that Ed had spent the better part of his energy with the transmutations.

"Yeah, I think so," Ed mumbled as he pushed his chair out, though he didn't stand up. "Roy, do you think I could stay in your room again for the night?"

The beast blinked. "Of course you can." He couldn't help but feel a little too warm at the thought of Edward in his bed. "Any particular reason?"

"I...I just don't want to have that nightmare again: I felt safer in your room..."

Roy nodded with a soft smile. "Alright, Edward. We should probably turn in now, it's been a long day."

Ed stood from his chair and held his hand out to Roy who grasped it as he stood. Edward squeezed his hand and they walked over to the stairs together.

It had been a little over a week, and now Edward was getting frustrated. He'd made little progress with the circles in that time and he didn't know why. He rolled over in bed and trailed his fingertips down the fur of Roy's back. The nightmares occurred noticeably less when he slept in Roy's room, so he had begun to go to the man's room on a nightly basis.

Roy had told him it would take a while, but there were some days where he was sure he was backtracking in any progress he had made. Edward deeply longed for the circles to simply click for him, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Moving closer to Roy's back, Ed closed his eyes and tried to follow Roy into sleep.

Edward jolted suddenly, waking up. He huffed quietly as he realized he that he wasn't laying on grass, that he wasn't surrounded by flames, and that there wasn't a corpse laying beside him. Resting his forehead against the back of Roy's shoulder, he collected himself; relieved that he hadn't woken Roy up.

"I have to make this stop," Edward whispered to himself as he carefully removed himself from the bed. He pulled the covers back over Roy and quietly left the room. The floor was cold under his bare foot and he shivered as he quickly made his way to the door of the practice room.

He quietly crept into the room and closed the door. _'Roy doesn't have to know I did this. It'll just be a quick transmutation.'_ Edward thought nervously as he got out the chalk and began to draw out the circle. _'This is just to prove that I can control fire. I _can_ control my fear.'_

Placing some paper and a few small pieces of wood in the center of the circle, the blonde knelt down. Clapping his hands together quietly, he paused, feeling as though something wasn't right. Shaking off the feeling as best he could, he slammed his hands down onto the circle and watched as the transmutation began.

As the transmutation's light began to fade away, Edward smiled a little that he had been able to make the fire, but had been able to control it as well. He kept feeding little bits of his energy to the circle to control the growth of the flame. Satisfied that he'd been able to do this without Roy's help, he stopped feeding the circle and slowly began to lift his hands from the circle, with little to no fear.

It was just before he lifted the tips of his fingers from the floor that the soft luminous glow of the circle grew dark. The dying flames suddenly leapt out of the circle, the fire high and wide and Ed felt his energy suddenly being sapped in a violent way.

Roy jolted upright in bed as he heard a sharp piercing scream. He quickly rolled onto Edward's side, hovering a little so that he would not smother the younger as he scanned the room for danger. He sniffed the air deeply and stiffened.

Edward was not lying beneath him, nor was he in the room at all. What terrified Roy more was that there was a strong scent of smoke in the air. The beast flung back his covers, barely noticing as he ran out of the room that the rose in the corner of his room was glowing more brightly than it normally did.  
>Roy ran down the hall and growled lowly in his throat as he saw smoke coming out from under the crack in the door. He put his hand to the doorknob to open it...But it did not budge. Roy instantly began to slam his shoulder into the door until it gave way.<p>

His eyes widened as he froze in the doorway. Edward was not only surrounded by flames, but the fire had taken a shape. The image looked similar to an old woman, a _very _familiar old woman. She reached out with her flaming hands to the quivering blonde on the floor, motioning for him to go with her.

Roy lunged for one of the still-full pails of water and dumped it onto the flaming woman, watching as she disappeared. He glanced at the circle and was satisfied to see that it had been washed away; however, in its place, a _'D'_ was scorched into the floor.

His ears twitched and he turned around as he heard a quiet sob behind himself. Edward was curled in on himself now; his legs pulled into his chest and his head tucked in.

Roy's eyes softened a little, though he was still incredibly angry with Ed, he knew the blonde was scared witless at the moment. He knelt down and picked Ed up. Instantly the blonde wrapped his arms around Roy's neck and curled into him.

"I'm sorry, Roy," Edward gasped in between sobs. "I was just...I only wanted-" he buried his head into Roy's chest. Roy rubbed his back soothingly, but stayed silent. "It was going perfectly, I-I don't know what went wrong." Edward pulled back weakly from Roy and stared tiredly and sorrowfully up at the beast.

Roy wiped a few tears away from Ed's cheek. "You put too much of your energy into the circle, Ed." Though he realized after he said that, that if that were the case...then why did Dante appear?

"But I didn't," Ed protested, resting his forehead on Roy's shoulder. "I kept it controlled. Then when I tried to end the transmutation, the color changed and I could feel something taking my energy forcefully." Edward tightened his arms around Roy's neck. "I had no control...It was scary."

Roy frowned, but kissed the side of Edward's head, brushing his bangs behind his ear. "You'll have to be more careful Ed, Dante wants something with you." _'And I'm afraid this may have been an experiment...and a successful one at that.'_

"I'm sorry, Roy," Ed murmured again as the beast picked him up carefully.

Roy shook his head. "You just need me to be in here when you do your transmutations. I can't let you be hurt by her," he explained as he brought Ed back to his bedroom.

Ed was silent and still clung to Roy even after he'd been tucked in. It took Roy a while to comfort Ed and get him to relax enough to go to sleep. Roy stayed up for a little while longer, still stroking Edward's long blond hair.

_'Dante wants something from him,' _Roy thought to himself. _'She took his energy, a damn lot of it too._' He turned and glared at the glowing rose, his eyes widening fractionally when he realized the flow was a tad bit brighter than it had been before, before it dimmed and went back to normal before his eyes.

Roy tightened his arm around Edward's waist and slowly lay his head down. He breathed in deeply a few times, making sure that everything was alright before he buried his nose into Ed's hair and slowly fell asleep.


	24. Intimacy

**SO sorry everyone. Really truely.**

**This would have been up two weeks ago...but...I had typed up the next chapter instead of this one. **

**Also school is evil and catching up with me. Finals will start soon...yuck.**

**And...um yeah. So in about a week I'll be updating again with an already edited chapter of B&B**

**So once again...I am terribly sorry!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter...Tehe**

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><p>Roy watched as Edward carefully guided the flames in the circle to a few candles that were just outside the circle. The first few times Ed had tried this, he had melted the candles into small puddles of wax. However, this time, Edward was able to control the flames almost perfectly and lit all the candles and extinguished the remaining flames.<p>

The beast clapped quietly for Ed, who smiled brightly at him. "That was great, Ed. Maybe soon we can move on to the old gloves of mine. More precision based training then."

"Gloves? Did you stitch your circles on them?"

Edward had improved more and more since the Dante flame incident two weeks ago. He'd thrown himself again into studying Roy's notes. The beast had found Ed on many nights out of bed and slumped over a table in the library.

"Yes, though the gloves only have a basic flame circle, you'll have to control it on your own with them on," Roy explained as he stood and walked over to where Ed was still kneeling.

Ed blew out the candles and took the hand Roy offered him. Standing up and brushing the chalk dust off of his pants, he wrapped his arms around him. "Thanks for helping me, Roy."

The beast smiled and rubbed Ed's back for a moment before pulling back. "No problem, Ed. You've improved a lot with little help from me, honestly." He placed a quick, soft kiss to Ed's brow before saying, "I think we ought to celebrate a little tonight."

Ed smiled and nodded. "That'd be fun, if only it was bit warmer, then we could go outside."

Roy had been leading Ed out of the room, smiling as the blonde threaded his fingers through his own. At the bottom of the stairs, Roy gently pushed Ed toward the dining room. "I'll be in to eat in a moment. I'm just going to grab a treat for dinner." Edward smiled and nodded, leaving Roy in the hall.

Entering the kitchen, he ignored the odd looks that Jean and Maes were giving him and went straight to the cupboard. After he had set up two wine glasses on the counter Maes hopped over.

"Roy, what do you think you are doing?"

"We're celebrating. Ed's done a great job with his alchemy and I thought it might be a good idea." Roy explained as he went over to the wine cupboard and scanned over the contents.

"Nice plan, Roy! Get the kid drunk and he's sure to confess his love to you! You should have done this sooner!" Jean cheered as he came over as well.

Roy froze. "I don't plan on getting him drunk," his voice was low. "This is, as I said, for celebration purposes only."

"Yeah, yeah and him getting drunk is another positive side to it," Jean continued. "The kid is tiny, it won't take much to get him up and over."

Roy grabbed a bottle without looking and closed the cupboard loudly. "Jean, no. You don't know what you're talking about." He grabbed the wine glasses and went out to the hall again.

Taking a deep breath so that he would appear to be calmer, he carefully opened the door of the dining room. Walking over to his seat with a smile for Edward on his face, he set the glasses down and uncorked the bottle.

"I figured we could celebrate with a bit of wine tonight, if you don't mind?"

"No, that sounds...good?" Ed chuckled and blushed a little. "I've never had wine before so I don't know what it's like."

Roy smiled softly and nodded. "It's not too bad after the first few sips; you have to acquaint yourself with the taste of it." He turned the bottle over in his hand. "This is...Barbera, dark red wine, usually tastes like berries."

Ed bit his lip thoughtfully before saying, "I'll try some, I guess."

Roy nodded and poured Ed's glass half full and did the same for his own glass before taking a seat. Sitting down in his seat across from Ed, Roy took a sip of his wine and then started on the chicken on the plate in front of him.

~/~/~

Edward slowly ate the chicken, every now and then his eyes would flicker over to the wine glass. Eventually, the chicken began to dry out his mouth and he reached hesitantly for the glass. Ed took a small sip and then put the glass down on the table, his face scrunching up. The taste was odd and a bit sharp, making Ed ran his tongue over his teeth a bit. When he heard Roy chuckling, he looked up and glared.

"You'll get used to the taste, Ed. It's a taste you need to adjust yourself to," Roy explained as he drank from his own.

Edward sighed and nodded, taking another, a bit bigger, drink. The taste was still odd to him, but not unpleasant, he found as he continued his dinner. By the time they had finished their dinner, Ed drank a full glass of wine and he still felt like himself.

"Come, we can have another drink in the sitting room," Roy said as he stood, grabbing both his glass and the bottle. Ed did the same, following Roy out of the room. He watched as Roy lit the fireplace and he settled himself on the couch, waiting for him. He accepted the full glass Roy offered him and curled up next to him on the couch.

"I wonder what Alphonse is up to..." Ed murmured suddenly.

Roy tightened his grip around Ed.

"I'm not saying I want to leave the manor, I'm just a bit worried about him is all."

"I'm sure he's alright, he has Winry, right?" Roy soothed as he ran his fingers through blond hair.

Ed leaned into the touches. "I'm sure he is too, but neither of them know what happened to me...I could be dead for all they know," he took a drink from the wine glass in his hand.

"I don't think it would be wise to leave until it is a bit warmer out," Roy mumbled.

"I already said I don't want to leave you-"

Roy moved his hand from Ed's hair to his mouth, shushing him. "You could always come back, Edward."

"No, I'd just go around in circles until some chimera comes along and gets me," Another drink. "I want to wait until you're human to go find them, anyways." Another, a bit smaller, sip. "Do you think Dante is controlling the chimeras? Maybe she's trying to keep me here for some reason?"

He could see Roy thinking it over and he noticed that Roy had put down his own glass and his other hand was rubbing slowly up and down his back.

"She could be if she is-"

"She'd be able to get me easily if I left." Ed concluded and rested his head against the man's shoulder, barely noticing when Roy's hands slipped under the hem of his shirt.

"I'll guide you out of the forest in the spring. She'll be more careful if I'm with you," Roy murmured as he lowered his head to Ed's ear.

Ed sighed; Roy just didn't understand that Edward clearly wanted to stay...

"But I'll need to come back to the manor, Roy. Unless you'll come with me to see Al?" Ed asked as he took another sip of his wine and tilted his head up to meet Roy's gaze.

"I don't think that would be wise, Ed. Not with my appearance as it is." Roy took the glass from Edward's hand and set it on the low table in front of them. When Roy leaned over him more, Ed leaned back as well, slowly letting himself be lowered so his back was on the cushions. "Alphonse would think I kidnapped you, and that I am a monster..." Roy trailed off and Ed rose his hand to the man's thinly-furred cheek.

"I still want Al to meet you," he said firmly. "Once we explain that this is a result of Dante's alchemy, he'd understand." Ed didn't quite notice that his voice was slurring or Roy's face was growing very close to his own, only focusing on his dark blue eyes. "Or I guess I'll just have to help you become human again soon, this way you'll feel more comfortable when you meet Al and Winry."

~/~/~

Roy stared at Edward's flushed face, he could see that the alcohol was beginning to affect him. _'No more wine for him,'_ Roy thought to himself, almost missing what the blonde had said. _'Oh, Edward,'_ Roy gently rubbed his nose against the blonde's. _'If only you knew that you just need to say three little words now.'_

Roy felt Ed wrap his automail arm around his neck and the metal thumb carefully rubbing over the base of his neck, through his thick fur. For a moment he thought he heard the sound of metal scurrying across the floor, but ignored it and instead overlapped Ed's lips with his own.

He heard Edward moan a little as he slid his tongue in between his pliant lips. Ed's flesh hand continued to rub his cheek gently and his automail arm wrapped a bit tighter around his neck, drawing him closer. Roy groaned quietly as Edward lifted his hips and rubbed against him slowly. Roy pulled back reluctantly and inwardly smirked when he heard Edward let out a quiet whine at the loss. Roy kissed the blonde's forehead and smiled down at him.

~/~/~

"Did you see that?" Jean hissed to Maes from where they were hiding behind an armchair.

"I think we ought to be leaving, Jean. Roy will be furious with us if he-"

"_If_ Maes. We'll be fine. And-" Jean paused, his eyes widening as he heard Roy groan deeply, he quickly peeked out from behind the chair. Maes, also unable to resist the temptation of it, looked too. They saw Edward grinding himself against Roy and they held their breath as they watched Roy pull away.

"C'mon Ed, just say it already!" the candelabra whispered loudly. Both household objects ducked back behind the chair as they saw Roy's ears twitch.

~/~/~

Roy brushed blond hair away from Ed's face and kept his eyes locked with the golden ones before him. The last time they had been like this, Edward had been sick with a fever and had not been aware of what he was doing. This time, however...though Ed was tipsy, there was a knowing glint in those eyes. Edward knew exactly what he was doing to Roy, and he pulled him back down and pressed their lips together.

He'd been opening his mouth to Ed's exploring tongue, when he heard something, almost like a whisper, and the scuttling of metal again. Trying to ignore it, he gently sucked on the tongue in his mouth and traced his own along Ed's. The quiet noises Edward let out combined with the slow grinding of his hips was driving Roy mad.

Then he heard the whispers again, though this time he recognized them. Roy pulled away growling, surprising the panting Edward. "Damn them," he muttered quietly before quickly standing and scooping Ed up in his arms and headed out of the sitting room.

"Roy, what's going on?" Edward asked as he nuzzled his head into Roy's neck.

"Just moving us somewhere more comfortable," Roy lied a little as he turned down the hall to his room, not wanting Edward to know there had been an audience before.

"Hm, sounds good to me," Ed murmured as he tilted Roy's head down and threaded his fingers through the fur on top of Roy's head.

Roy bumped into his bedroom door, successfully opening it and quietly kicked it closed once he had walked in. He carefully set Ed on the bed, running his hands down the blonde's sides, watching him shiver as he held on tighter to his neck. Edward tilted Roy's head down and lifted his, slowly overlapping their lips. Roy allowed Ed to pull him down onto the bed so he was leaning over him.

When Roy felt his cloak suddenly drop to the floor, he pulled back a bit from Ed - a little more than surprised. The young alchemist didn't hesitate to start unbuttoning Roy's shirt, while he was distracted.

"Ed, are you sure you want to do this?" Roy asked in a husky voice as he felt Edward press himself up against him, allowing him to fully feel every tense muscle in the blonde's body.

"Of course I do, Roy," Ed murmured as he rubbed his face against Roy's chest. "I would have pushed you away ages ago if I didn't."

Roy quickly began to unbutton Ed's shirt, some of the buttons flying and landing on the floor as he did so. Edward moaned as Roy nipped at his neck and lifted his hips when he felt Roy quickly undoing his belt to help him remove both his pants and undergarments.

Roy's nose was twitching at Edward's scent and his mouth watered a little. He stepped back from the bed and quickly lit a few of the candles in the room before stripping out of his own pants. When Roy looked back to Ed, he saw the blonde had moved himself further up on the bed, the candles putting a soft glow on his skin. But after a moment, Roy realized he shouldn't have lit the room and exposed himself so much.

He was a bit shocked when instead of Ed scrambling off the bed, the blonde smiled at him and motioned for Roy to join him. Roy slowly got onto the bed, giving Ed time to change his mind and run. He slowly crawled over Ed and let the blonde wrap his arms around his shoulders and pull him down. Roy shivered a little as Ed's aroused scent surrounded him and he stared down into dark amber irises.

~/~/~

Edward stared up into Roy's darkening blue eyes and a small smile grew on his face. Ed tilted his head up and bit gently at Roy's ear, his teeth sliding across the thin, soft skin. The light fur on the ear put him off a little, but he ignored it, easier than he thought it would be. Roy had stiffened and stopped moving, Ed glanced and saw that his eyes had gone wide. Edward did it again, nipping gently at Roy's ear and watched for another reaction. When he heard the soft moan that came from Roy's throat, he smiled to himself. Roy's head had turned so that Ed could continue to pay attention to his ear. Ed nipped it and teased the ear once more before kissing Roy.

It was Ed's turn to moan as Roy's tongue plunged into his mouth. He pulled a little at the fur on Roy's neck and tried to roll his body against the man above him. Edward whimpered slightly when Roy pulled away and rested their foreheads together.

The blonde shivered as he felt Roy's nearly human hands move over the automail scarring on his right shoulder. He rolled his shoulder and gave Roy more room. Edward groaned as he felt Roy press back against his hips. Ed slowly rubbed Roy's sides, fingers slipping through the fur and rubbing the skin underneath it, imagining what the man's skin might feel like with less hair.

"Aah, Roy," Edward murmured as the man ducked his head to lick at the sensitive scar tissue. He squirmed a little as one of Roy's hands slid down his leg and rubbed the skin before his automail there. As he hummed softly in pleasure, his hands got lower until he slid his flesh one in between their bodies, the automail tucking under Roy's arm and staying in the middle of the older alchemist's back.

A little nervous with what he was doing, but also feeling confident - he was sure that was the alcohol's influence; he took hold of Roy's cock, that he could feel brushing his leg.

Edward felt Roy freeze, his tongue still lapping at his neck and shoulder. Slowly he moved his hand up and down the length, it was thinly furred, feeling much like Roy's ear had. He pressed his thumb against the tip and smiled a tad deviously up at Roy as the man let out a gaspy moan.

~/~/~

Roy was shocked that Edward had made the first touch, and kissed him soundly for it. As Ed continued to move his hand, Roy put an arm under Ed's neck and the other hand wrapped around the blonde's cock.

His mind was racing as to what he and Ed should and shouldn't do. _'I want to make love to him. I want to hear him moan my name...but not in this body.'_ Roy pulled at Edward's lower lip with his teeth. _'I want to be so much more intimate with him, but only when I'm back to my original body. I won't go all the way with him tonight.'_ Roy decided as he moved his hand up and down Edward's erection, making the blonde writhe against the bed.

Roy slowly moved himself onto his side, next to Ed and turned Ed so that his flesh shoulder was pressed against the blankets. Edward stared into Roy's eyes and moaned as the beast roughly rubbed his thumb across his tip. Ed's back arched and the young alchemist panted as Roy wrapped his other arm around the small of his back and drew him closer.

Roy placed a kiss on Ed's forehead when he rubbed their cheeks against each other. He watched as Edward's face grew redder and his breathing came quicker.

"Roy," Edward moaned and his automail hand tightened in Roy's dark fur.

Roy tilted his head and kissed at Edward's neck as is breath changed to panting. The noises the blonde made were making Roy's own erection pulse, but Edward had nearly forgotten about it, Roy noted as the hand ceased movement.

Roy tightened his hold and quickened his pace. Ed rubbed his face against Roy's and mildly hiccupped and pressed his lips hard against the beast's as he came. He held the blonde closer as he pulled his head back panting, his body quaking quite a bit.

As he felt Edward's breath hot against his neck, Roy moved his hand from Ed's dick to overlap the blonde's hand. Roy rubbed his nose into Ed's hair as he led the youngers hand to a slow stroking pace. Edward nuzzled into Roy's neck as he came back to himself, and gradually began to move his hand without Roy's assistance. Roy licked the shell of the blonde's ear and let out a low groan as he felt himself getting closer to his tipping point. With his automail hand, Ed tilted Roy's head down and pressed their lips together gently. Once Ed's tongue slid into his mouth, he rubbed his tip just so, and had tightened his hand just right, making Roy come with a startled sound.

As he breathed heavily in the wake of his orgasm, Ed rolled Roy over and lay on top of him. Roy kept his eyes closed as he felt Edward's hands going through his fur and gliding along the skin underneath it. When he opened his eyes he saw golden ones staring lovingly down at him. Roy wrapped one arm around Ed's waist and held him there.

_'Why won't he say it? I can see it in his eyes, in his actions, in his voice. Why won't he say those three words?'_ Roy couldn't help but wonder as he raised his other hand to cup Ed's cheek and rub his thumb across it. Roy opened his mouth to say the words, maybe Ed needed prompting-when lips covered his, moving slowly against them. When they pulled back, Ed rubbed his cheek against Roy's and lay there on top of him, getting comfortable. Rubbing Ed's back, he decided to leave it be for now.

The moment Ed shivered, Roy felt it, and he could see the goosebumps form on the lightly tanned skin.

"Am I not warm enough for you?" Roy teased as he rolled them over so Edward lay between him and the mattress.

Ed hummed. "Now I am," he pulled Roy down for another kiss and rubbed his nose gently against Roy's.

Roy reached down for the sheets that had been kicked to the end of the bed and covered them both. With Ed tucked into his side, already dozing, he pecked his forehead and whispered, "I love you," before falling asleep as well.


	25. The Quiet

**Aaaand the next chapter!**

**And today is the 8 month anniversary with my dear Meep (Mii-ch4n) ^^**

**So...yeah. XD**

**I'll try to get the next chapter out sometime next week, but as it gets close to the finals it'll be rough. Though...I've made you guys wait for like 2-3 months soo...it won't be that bad. Really X'D**

**I hope you enjoy this fic, thank you for all of your reviews ^^**

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><p>Al's armor creaked loudly as he stepped off the train first. He wobbled a little, his footing unsteady from sitting for so long. Turning slowly so that way he would not fall over, he offered a hand for Winry to take to help her off the train.<p>

"Thanks, Al," Winry murmured as they walked the small distance to where their luggage lay. Both were quiet and their eyes stayed trained on the ground as they left the train station.

"Winry?" Alphonse's echoey voice was especially quiet and hard to hear among the sounds of the town bustling around them. "I know it's stupid to think that after all this time searching…B-Brother will just be sitting at home waiting for us…but…"

The blonde put a hand on Al's metal arm, wishing she could feel the flesh inside of it and comfort the younger better. "I…I wouldn't get your hopes up, Al." She heard the armor clink as it nodded its head in response.

"Right."

The two continued their solemn walk out of town and up the road to their little house.

Alphonse couldn't help but glance around, looking for any changes around the house, but found none. When Winry unlocked the door, both quickly scurried into the house, only to find a thick layer of dust covering everything.

"He never came home," Winry winced as Al's voice turned sorrow-filled and almost had a childish ring to it.

"Al, come over to the kitchen, I want to see if I have something for that rust on your armor." She knew better than to try and comfort him, so instead she changed the subject. She was still looking through her supplies when she heard Al come in and sit down. "I'm not sure if I have anything that will help you, Al. The rust looks like it's gone too far." Winry observed the metal around the joints with a critical eye. Layers of rust were chipping away and she knew that what was left of the metal had to be weak.

"Al, it's not safe for you to stay in there anymore. If that metal cuts you, you could get really sick and die quickly," Winry warned as she sat across the table from Alphonse.

"I won't take it off," Al was stubborn. "I'll wear it until the arms and legs of it can't move anymore."

Winry desperately wanted to play the Brother Card: the 'your brother wouldn't allow you to stay in there' or 'do you know how angry you brother will be?'. But she knew Al would be deeply wounded if she played that card. Instead she nodded with a sigh and said, "Alright."

"I'm going to go down to the study now, Winry. I'll come back upstairs around dinner." Alphonse didn't wait for a response and merely stood up and walked out.

Winry sighed as she looked out the window. It was a beautiful May afternoon, the sun was bright and shining down on the flowers in the field between their house and the town. _'How can it be so beautiful when there's so much wrong?'_

~/~/~

Maes noticed how Gracia was seemingly nervously moving her position on the stove top. "Everything all right?"

Gracia stopped as she heard her husband come up to her and she said quietly, "I'm worried is all."

Maes didn't have to ask about what. They were down to less than ten days before Roy's birthday, and Ed had still yet to say those three little words that were ever so important. "I'm worried. If Ed doesn't say anything soon, we'll be stuck like this forever." Gracia's voice broke. "Elysia will never grow up. She'll be a tea cup the rest of her life!"

Maes wished for nothing more at that moment than arms. He wanted to hold his wife tightly and comfort her, to finally be able to touch her again. However instead, he could only move closer to her and carefully rub himself against her to avoid scratching or chipping either's porcelain.

"I'm sure Ed will pull through. Do you know how many times Riza, Jean and I have walked in on those two?" Maes chuckled weakly. "I don't know what is holding Edward back, but if we really need to, I'm sure we can get him to say it."

"But Maes, he needs to say this with meaning, without being told to do so would be best." Gracia's voice continued to tremble a little. "If we tell him to say it, then it'll take away from the meaning."

"I don't think so," Maes murmured comfortingly. "If he knows that _he_ is the key to this, then he'll happily do it. He cares a lot for Roy."

Gracia sighed again. "Let's wait a few more days before hinting."

"Alr-" Maes was cut off by Jean's loud voice.

"Why not just out right tell him now?" the candelabra had its arms crossed. Both teapots took deep breaths as Riza came in after and cuffed him over the head.

"Jean, you know we can't."

"The kid is in danger with that Dante around," he explained exasperatedly. "We'd all be able to help Roy protect him if we were human."

"Jean, Dante hasn't bothered Ed for a few weeks now." Maes said as both he and Gracia left the stove.

"You all clearly didn't hear the poor kid screaming this morning, then," Jean shook his head. "Roy had a hell of a time calming him down."

"The poor dear!" Gracia gasped. "I was wondering why they haven't been down for breakfast."

Jean shrugged a little. "I don't just want to get my body back. I feel like we could do so much more for Ed if we were human again."

"While your intentions are good, Jean, I think we should only tell Ed what to do as a last resort," Riza said as she placed a hand on Jean's shoulder. Keeping her pained expression inside, she watched Maes and Gracia lean closer together, the only way they could comfort each other. "Ed will pull through for us."

~/~/~

"Roy, really, I'm fine," Ed tried to insist as he stared into Roy's eyes. The man held him by his shoulders and was staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Your nightmares have never been that bad before, Ed," Roy stated firmly. "Just tell me what it was."

Ed shivered, not just from the way Roy's hands were still caressing both the bare skin of his arms and sides, but from the dream as well.

It had seemed so real. He was in the forest outside of the manor, but not of his own will. He was tied, gagged and in the center of an enormous transmutation circle. Envy had been beside him, promising all the things he'd do to Edward once Dante had finished with him. Edward pressed himself more into Roy's touches, feeling disgusted from the things Envy had said and he could have sworn that he could actually feel Envy's touches during the dream. And then Envy had suddenly gone away and then red alchemic electricity filled the air and a horrible pain went through him…and then he woke up to Roy's worried face.

"It…it was just the same old dream, Roy," Ed looked away from Roy, feeling uncomfortable with lying to Roy. At the hard look from his…lover (Edward blushed a little at the thought of the word) he sighed. "It was different. I'm in the forest, I can't move, and Envy's there."

"Who?" Roy raised an eyebrow and pulled Ed closer into him, as though sensing that the topic was unpleasant.

"Envy, he's…been stalking me since I moved to the village. He was the person that I was running from when I ended up here." Ed put a hand on one of Roy's arms and squeezed it. "It was just…nothing happened in the dream, but he'd been promising to do…" Edward trailed off, not wanting to think of the things Envy had said.

Roy held him tighter as he murmured, "Do you think he's in on whatever Dante's doing?"

Ed stiffened a little, before nodding slowly. "Yeah, he'd said that he couldn't wait until she was done with me, because then I'd be his." Roy tucked Ed under his arm more, and the blonde could feel Roy's head on top of his and feel his breath coming out in short angry pants. "Roy, it'll be okay, really." Edward raised a hand and stroked his arms, trying to calm him.

"I, I know it will, Edward. I'm just worried about this. I won't let either of them hurt you." Roy pulled back and Ed saw his tight smile.

"Maybe if we can find the way to get you and the others back to normal, Dante will back off?" Ed hinted quietly. Roy had been spending less time studying and helping him, and instead was trying to spend more time with Ed. Whether it be cuddling, kissing or stroking him.

…Speaking of which, Roy's hand was getting pretty low.

Ed let out a bit of a shocked, pleasured sound as he felt Roy's hand stroke him slowly.

"Roy, I don't know w-hy you've been avoiding st-udying, but we need to get back to-o it, your birthday is coming up soon."

"I know, Edward," the blonde shivered at the low tone of the man's voice. "But I think we've done enough research for the moment."

Edward put his hand on Roy's wrist, stopping the movement. "Are you just giving up?"

~/~/~

Roy wasn't sure whether to laugh or curse Ed's insistence. _'He doesn't know there's no need for studying anymore.'_ Roy thought to himself, inwardly smiling sadly. _'He just doesn't know it's all up to him now.'_ Roy decided to change his approach as Ed's aroused scent wafted to his nose.

"Of course not," he paused for a moment. "You smell wonderful, Edward."

He watched as Ed's jaw dropped a little and a light blush developed on his face. "Thanks? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you smell good," he smirked and lowered his lips to the blonde's ear. "Especially when I do _this_," Roy slowly stroked Ed from base to tip and chuckled at the low moan that tumbled from his mouth and his cheeks darkened.

"What's that mean?" Ed asked, squirming a little.

"It means I can smell when you're aroused," he licked around the shell of the younger's ear. He watched as golden eyes grew wide, and Edward turned completely to face him.

"Wait, you mean you can…" He trailed off, his face a deep red.

"Smell when you are or have been aroused." Roy celebrated a quiet inward victory at successfully distracting Edward. "In the beginning, I had to lock myself in the library; it was the only place in the manor that that scent of yours didn't linger." He could hear Edward's breath catch and he continued to stroke the blonde, now slowly laying him back on the bed and hovering over him.

"You mean you knew I was-"

"Masturbating? Yes. Though I didn't know it was to the thought of _me_ until a bit later."

Edward's eyes were darting around a bit as he squirmed and moaned as Roy's thumb pressed against his tip. "Why didn't you te-ll me you knew?"

"I had wanted to wait 'til the right time, and then you walked in on me." Roy chuckled as he nipped gently at the blonde's neck. "And after all these months of smelling you, I'd like to taste you as well." Roy looked directly into Edward's eyes as he said this and watching as amber eyes widened and his breath stilled in his chest.

"You have, though," Ed's voice was quiet. "Y-you've licked me before."

A small smile grew on Roy's face. "Yes, but not _here_." Roy squeezed Ed's cock gently, making him shiver. "May I, Ed?"

Edward looked up at him, his cheeks slowly returning to their original color, but still holding a pale red to them.

~/~/~

_'This is so embarrassing to say, to talk about, and to agree to!'_ Edward thought as he slowly raised his head from Roy's pillow and pecked the man's cheek.

"Yeah, if you want to," he kissed Roy's lips and added, "Bastard." Ed shivered at the look Roy gave him as he placed his lips on his collarbone and started kissing slowly down. Ed moaned softly as the elder's fingers rubbed the sensitive skin of the nipple closest to his automail as his mouth latched onto the other. When he let out a small gasp, Roy switched and mouthed at the other and Ed couldn't help the way his back arched slightly.

Roy ran his teeth over the hardened nipple and also moved to tease the scarring from the automail as well. Edward was left panting from Roy's ministrations and his fingers scrambled to thread themselves through the soft, long hair-like fur on Roy's head. He fought back a whimper as Roy's mouth went elsewhere, kissing down his stomach. He jolted and made a startled noise as he felt a slick, warm tongue slide into his belly button. Ed squired and groaned as Roy continued to dip his tongue in and out and grazed the soft skin with his teeth.

When Ed felt Roy's hands settle on his hips, he opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them, and stared into Roy's dark blue eyes. His eyes grew wide as he watched Roy open his mouth and lap at his shaft; a moan tumbled from his own mouth at the sight. When the man took hold of his erection and stroked slowly as he wrapped his lips around and sucked at Ed's tip, the blonde tilted his head to the side, unable to stand looking into Roy's eyes as he was pleasured like this. He let out a cross between a gasp and a moan as he suddenly felt his cock be enveloped in a moist, warm cavern.

"Roy," Ed panted quietly as he kept one hand threaded in the man's hair and the other rose to his mouth. When Roy answered with a hum that vibrated around Edward's length, the blonde practically melted into the bed. As Roy's fingers kneaded the tense muscles around his hips as well as held him down, he slowly bobbed his head up and down, his tongue pressing against him.

Edward closed his eyes again as he pressed his hand to his mouth, trying to quiet himself if only a little. He arched his back and writhed on the bed. He didn't expect to react this way when Roy sucked and moaned around him, he didn't think he'd feel this much pleasure. He hadn't thought that Roy's teeth that would occasionally glide along his length would feel so good.

"Roy," he moaned through clenched teeth. So badly wanting to say those three words but refraining, remembering his decision to wait. "I…I-" he could feel Roy quicken his actions and bring the end all the sooner.

Edward's hand left his mouth and clutched the sheets as he arched his back and came. He was left gasping as Roy's teeth slid over his extremely sensitive skin, and continued to gently suck on him. Ed loosened his grip on Roy's hair and the hand fell down onto the bed with a thud. As his body quivered slightly, he could feel the ticklish feeling of Roy's fur on his skin as the man made his way back up to him.

Ed longed to whisper those three words, to just say them, to see Roy's response…but he stuck to his resolve. Wrapping his heavy arms around Roy's neck, he kissed the man deeply, faintly tasting himself on the other's tongue.

~/~/~

Roy sighed happily into the blonde's mouth. He had been completely surrounded by the source of Ed's aroused scent and he'd been able to taste him too. He could see the love in Ed's shining golden eyes and couldn't help but wonder why he wouldn't voice it.

He pushed the thought away and pulled back from Ed to place one short kiss on his cheek before smiling and saying, "We should get down to breakfast so that way they won't send someone up to check on us."

Ed frowned. "But, you're still," when he went to reach for Roy, the man merely took his hand and shook his head.

"I'll be fine, Ed. We should get going," Roy placed a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead before standing up and tossing Ed the clothes that had been thrown carelessly onto the floor the night before. Putting on his own clothes, he could hear the bed creak as Ed stood.

He was surprised when he turned around to find Edward standing behind him, still naked. Roy opened his mouth to say something to him and found the words halted in his throat as the younger wrapped his arms around him tightly. Roy smiled and returned the embrace.

"Roy, I just really want to find a way to get you to be normal again," the words were muffled by his fur, but Roy heard them all the same.

"I know, Ed," Roy tried to keep the sadness out of his voice. If Edward did not confess soon, he would not be able to love him the way the blonde deserved to be. He would still be a beast, and there was a good chance he'd return to the way he looked when Ed first came to the manor, all the progress he had made gone. He could even lose his mind and become a true beast.

Roy led Ed quietly down to the dining room, surprised but glad to see all of his friends in the dining room preparing their breakfast. When they had seen the two walk in they were greeted warmly, though Roy could nearly physically sense the tension in the room.

Once he and Edward had sat down, and midway through their meal, Roy cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"My thirtieth birthday is coming up, and I know you all will disagree with this decision of mine. However, I have decided that that day we shall celebrate. If I am human or not, we shall celebrate," his words echoed through the suddenly-quiet room.

"But, Roy," Ed spoke up first. "If you're not human by the twentieth, then that day we should be searching for any way possible to reverse it!"

Roy had to look away and he heard Riza hit Jan so he would not say anything.

"We will celebrate on your birthday, Roy." Riza stated. "Regardless of you still being a beast or being a human. Though we will do our very best to insure you will be human." Roy saw the quick glance she sent to Ed before meeting his eyes again.

"Thank you," Roy said softly and relaxed in his chair again. He reached out and took the hand Ed had rested on the table and squeezed it. "Everything will be alright, Edward," he murmured despite the odd sense of foreboding he had in his gut.

The golden blonde nodded a little, looking unsure still. "I hope so."


	26. The Ball

**So so so so so sorry about the wait. I mean really. I'm sorry. I had finals, I've been job searching for a second job (my current one has just started giving me more hours...so yaaaay!) and then this chapter was also quite long...so...writing and typing it took a while to get done. It;s just...been very busy and as I did not know if I would pass some classes, it's been nerve-wracking as well. (also the need for a second job/more hours was very prominent if I want to stay home during a month long family vacation O.o)**

**But without anymore delay...here is chapter twenty-five ^^ I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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><p>"Oh, Edward, I think you would look dashing in th-"<p>

"It's a dress, Rose." Ed took a deep breath. "Again. I am not wearing a dress."

"Oh _fine_,"

Edward rolled his eyes, knowing the wardrobe was pouting. He plopped back onto the bed, still in his white robe, and sighed. He slowly turned and faced Riza and Maes who sat on the dresser on the far side of the room.

"I still don't see the point in this. Why is he so insistent on celebrating?" Ed ran his hand through his still-damp hair. "We should be doing more research! Trying new theories, retesting the old ones!"

"Edward," Maes sighed and shook his head. He glanced at Riza and saw she looked like he felt. If only Edward understood…

"He hasn't given up, if that's what you're thinking, Ed." The blonde looked curiously at the clock. "He does want to figure this out. But he's not sure what tomorrow will hold."

"What…do you mean?" Edward asked hesitantly, watching the two object look at eachother, then to him.

"Roy doesn't know if once this enchanting transmutation is permanent….If he'll keep his human mind-"

"Or be replaced with that of a beast's," Maes finished. "He wants to enjoy tonight, because this could be the last one he remembers. If he does turn beastly, you, Edward, are to leave here immediately.

"But-"

"No 'buts', Edward." Riza walked closer to the dresser's ledge. "It would kill Roy if he ever did something to hurt you. If he starts to change, you _have_ to run."

Ed chewed his lower lip, putting both his flesh and automail hands on his forehead. Maes and Riza made their way to Ed's bed as quickly as they could.

"Listen, Edward. It's clear to us that you love him," Maes said quietly. All three of them were ignoring Rose's clothes selections. Maes leaned against Ed's leg. "Why don't you tell him?" He could see Riza's shocked face and the teapot shrugged the best he could.

"I…I've been waiting until," Ed cleared his throat before falling back on the bed. "I wanted to wait until he was human again." Edward sighed.

Riza and Maes stared at each other, horrified. If Edward were to keep to this plan, Roy would be doomed for sure.

"Edward, listen. That is-" Maes's voice suddenly left him. He tried to continue to speak, but found he could not. Riza attempted to jump in as Edward sat up to stare at the two of them, a confused expression on his face. "That's a very nice plan, Ed, howev-" Her voice gave out on her as well.

Edward was distracted from his friends' sudden silence when Rose loudly called his name from behind the changing wall. Ed stood and gave the two objects a sheepish look and shrug before slipping behind the screen to try on what Rose found.

"Maes, why can't -" She stopped for a moment as she realized that her voice had come back suddenly. "Why couldn't we tell him?"

"I don't know, we should go tell Roy in a few minutes. I want to try once more." Riza nodded and they both turned to look at the screen.

"No! I am _not_ wearing a dress Rose. Get it away from me!"

"But Edward, it would look wonderful on you!"

"Rose, I want pants _now._"

Maes and Riza glanced at each other and then back at the screen, finding it quite comical that Edward's shadow was shaking its fist at an open wardrobe.

"I'm not giving you anything else until you try this on, Edward!"

"Oh, come on!" Ed leapt at the wardrobe, trying to get in, but Rose closed the doors too quickly. "Shit!" The blonde rubbed his face, as it had smashed against the doors.

"Oh, come now, Ed. Just put it on then Rose will leave you alone." Maes called out, smirking a bit. "It's times like these that I wish I had been turned into a camera."

Riza nudged him a little. "Roy would have broken your lenses and you know that."

"Rose, come on…please give me something else!" Ed started pulling at the handles of the wardrobe. "This isn't fair, I still have to finish getting ready."

"Nope. Not until you try it on, Edward. Maybe you'll like it."

Ed let out an aggravated shout as he fell to the floor.

~/~/~

Jean was attempting (and failing) to coach Roy. For the most part he ignored the candelabra and continued to get ready. He wanted to look excellent for Edward and wished now more than ever to be human again. Attempting to tame some of the fur on his body, Roy was walking around the room, brushing it out.

Finally, Jean huffed and said something about helping Gracia in the kitchen. Roy smiled and waited until his friend had left to laugh. As though he was going to take Jean's romantic advice? No. He had plans for this evening, and he'd thought them out long in advance.

If anything were to happen to him if he remained a beast, he wanted to be sure this final night was one that would give Edward good memories of him. Before it had merely been a theory of his that he had kept to himself. The theory that his mind may change on him, may shift into another mind set. Now he feared that it was truly happening. This morning and every day for the past week or so he'd been requesting his meat to be rarer and rarer. And other times, he'd find himself staring at Edward in a way as though he ought to jump him, make him his own, ravage him…But he always caught himself.

These almost primal urges scared him more than he cared to admit. He'd told his friends of what could happen hypothetically, but had only told Riza and Maes the severity of it. And he wanted Edward far from him when this change to true beast happened.

Blinking and shaking his head, he tried to think about different things; about Edward saying those three words that would eliminate his fears of what he could potentially do to the blonde.

He stopped all pacing and brushing when he saw the damned rose glowing oddly. It was as though the light from it was pulsating. His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed for his mirror, hurriedly whispering Edward's name. The mirror glowed for a moment before showing him Edward.

Roy nearly dropped the mirror and fumbled with it in his hands as he laughed.

Edward was in an off-the-shoulder, golden ball gown. It must have had one of those hoop skirt contraptions with the way it bloomed out around his waist.

"Oh, Edward, you look ravishing!"

Roy smiled as he heard Rose's voice, knowing she was behind this.

"All you need to do, Ed, is put your hair up, or maybe curl it!" Maes crowed from the blonde's bed.

"Very funny both of you. Now, Rose," Edward's cheeks were flushed a bright red. "Give me _real_ clothes. No more dresses." The last bit of the sentence was growled out.

"Oh, fine," the mirror's vision faded away as Roy set it down on the table again.

He did have to agree with Rose, Edward_ had_ looked quite ravishing. The top corset of the dress had been pulled tight to his skin, and the way the sleeve were falling off, leaving his shoulders and neck bare…If he did return to his human form, perhaps he ought to convince Edward to wear it again…If only so Roy could undress him.

The beast cleared his throat and went about putting on his alchemically-resized black pants, white dress shirt, and black coat with a navy blue tie. He was attempting to style his hair on his head a bit, with no success, when Riza came in.

"We have a problem."

Roy froze as he turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

She walked closer to him as she explained. "We tried to tell Edward how to break the enchantment, however…we physically could not."

"I'm not sure I understand…"

"Our voices left us, Roy. But only when we spoke of that; anything else we wanted to say, we could."

Roy frowned. _'That's why it was glowing oddly…Dante doesn't want us to tell Ed.'_ His eyes widened. "She's going to make her move tonight."

"Wha-"

Roy interrupted Riza as he began to pace, his tail swishing back and forth angrily. "Whatever she has been planning is going to take place tonight, Riza." He feared for Edward's safety from him, but now he had to worry about protecting him from Dante as well.

Trying to calm himself down a bit, he turned again to Riza. "Alert everyone to be _very_ careful tonight. I don't want Edward to think anything is wrong, so we must keep this matter quiet and just watch for anything unusual." He stared into Riza's eyes. "I can't have Ed get hurt. He has to stay safe, Riza."

The clock nodded, not used to seeing her friend in this almost desperate state. "Do not worry, Roy. I'll inform everyone. We won't let anything past us." She assured.

Roy nodded his head and thanked her before straightening his clothes out and glancing in the mirror once more. He wanted to hurry the night along, spend more time with the young alchemist. He wanted to be around Ed as much as he could be tonight, both to enjoy his time and to ensure the blonde's safety. "Let's get going, I want to make sure everything is going smoothly downstairs," Roy said as he began to leave the room.

~/~/~

Edward jumped a little when he heard a knock at his door. He and Rose were the only ones in the room now, Maes had left a while ago to help Gracia in the kitchen. He adjusted the cuffs of his red dress shirt and dusted off his pants as he walked toward the door. When he opened it he had been expecting Roy…and found no one. Blinking, he looked down and saw Jean waving a bit at him.

Seeing he had the blonde alchemist's attention, Jean straightened up before bowing and saying, "Roy is waiting for you."

Edward blinked and blushed a little, watching as Jean hopped back towards the stairs. Ed checked his hair, tightening his ponytail and nodding to his reflection, he left his room, closing the door quietly behind himself. He felt a bit nervous about tonight as he walked down the hall. He did not know what Roy could possibly have planned.

Edward stopped just before the hallway ended and opened up to the stairway. He bit his lower lip, pulling it through his teeth. He felt stupid, being so nervous about this night suddenly. There was confusion within him as well. Yes, he understood that Roy wanted to relax, but that could have been done another day, these hours that were ticking by were the last ones Roy had. They should be looking for a way to return Roy to his human state, not eating a fancy dinner and chatting…Ed let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and closed his eyes. If this was what Roy wanted, Ed would do his best to be happy for him.

Edward walked down the steps to the landing and turned to go down the next set of stairs. He froze for a moment, hand on the banister, foot mid-step as he took in the entrance of the manor. Everything was gleaming as though they had been cleaned for a week straight. He had to blink as he took in the little rose decorations in the windows. The hall had not looked like this that morning, and the transformation shocked him, especially when he thought back to the time when he had first arrived.

He took one or two steps down before pausing for another moment. Roy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him and smiling up at him. Taking another step down and then another, Edward took in all of Roy. The new-looking clothes, the black suit, crisp looking white shirt, navy blue tie. No shoes -those wouldn't fit him due to how his legs and feet were- but that didn't take away from Roy's affect. What drew Edward to him most was the happiness that seemed to sparkle in his eyes. Edward returned the smile, and accepted Roy's arm as he stepped down off the stairs.

Ed allowed himself to be led by Roy and leaned into him a bit, inhaling he caught the scent of cologne and smiled a bit._ 'He went all out tonight,'_ Ed thought to himself.

"You look amazing, Edward."

The blonde blushed a little and squeezed Roy's arm, a bit unsure of what to say back. "And you, ah, look great, too," Ed tried not to phrase it as a question. Roy was the one that looked amazing. He was in a suit, and Ed felt a bit sloppy now that he saw that. Until that is, Roy moved his arm and as he wrapped it around Ed's waist, and squeezed his ass. Ed jumped and squeaked a little, lightly glaring at Roy as they approached the table in the dining room.

The room was lit by candles and the dinner was already set out for them. The wooden table nearly glowed in the candlelight; it must have been waxed at some point that morning. The door to the ballroom, which had never been used as long as he'd lived there, was open. He caught a glimpse of it as he went to sit down and his eyes widened. More flowers decorated the walls and the curtains were drawn back and large windows were reviled, the light from the slowly setting sun illuminating the room.

As he sat at his usual spot, he smiled at Roy. He was beginning to feel a bit excited now, apprehension for later was still there, and he still felt like they ought to be in the library researching still…but he could enjoy himself for a little while at least.

The dinner conversation was light, a bit flirtatious at times. No mentioning of what would happen at midnight, nothing of that sort was brought up at all, in fact.

When Roy stood and walked over to him and helped him out of his chair, Ed stood on his toes and kissed his cheek, wishing for a moment that it was soft skin his lips touched and not fur. Looking into Roy's dark eyes, Ed smiled a little sadly, and hugged him tightly. Roy did not seem too shocked by this, and held the blonde as he regained his composure.

"Would you like to dance?" Roy asked after a moment as he rubbed his back. Edward nodded and stepped back a little. Feeling Roy's lips on his forehead, he smiled again and took Roy's hand as they walked into the ballroom.

Since the sun had just set, the room was now lit by candles, much like the dining room had been. On the piano, the one he had fixed months ago, were Gracia and Maes, standing side by side, leaning against each other. When they had walked into the room Riza and Jean both hopped onto the piano's keys and began to play a practiced melody.

Ed was sure it would have been perfect, if either of them had actual hands to play with, but he still found it beautiful. He was turned by Roy, and felt one hand at his waist, and the other took his automail hand. Edward smiled and squeezed Roy's hand, raising his flesh hand to rest on Roy's upper arm.

The two of them swayed together slowly. They made their way around the ballroom like this twice and Edward was enjoying himself and could tell that Roy was too. He lay his head on Roy's chest for a few turns, before tilting his head up and looking at Roy's face. He tried to picture what Roy really looked like, if he normally kept his hair long or short, bearded or shaven, if he had small ears or large, how big his hands really were, if this was his true height or not.

And then the realization came crashing down on him.

He'd never know.

Because they were dancing instead of researching, Roy would remain a beast when the clock stroked midnight.

"Roy?" He hummed in reply, so Ed continued. "We really ought to be doing more research. There's still time, we could find something…" Ed trailed off a bit seeing Roy shake his head. Edward grew angry: the bastard was giving up!

Before he could say anything further, Roy kissed him as they spun around.

"I want to savor this time I have with you, Edward."

Ed was surprised to find his vision was clouded with tears. Blinking them away, the blonde shook his head. "There's always tomorrow, Roy. I'm not just going to leave you because there'll be no chance of you returning to your true form, Roy. You aren't definitely turning into a real beast so-"

"Edward." The blonde stopped talking. He could see something in Roy's eyes something that told him he was wrong. That he was _definitely_ going to turn into a true beast at midnight. And then he could see a mild look of distress on his face and realized that Roy had been saying something to him.

"Sorry," Ed cleared his thought. "I…didn't catch that."

To his surprise Roy shook his head and held him tighter.

~/~/~

Roy pulled his blonde closer to him, holding him tightly as they swayed. He knew that in his room the rose was glowing brightly. He, like Riza and Maes, was unable to tell Ed anything.

_'If only his actions or other words could possibly do something!'_ Roy thought, distressed.

He'd have to send Edward away just before midnight. Whether the young alchemist wanted to leave or not, he'd have to go. It saddened him greatly that not only would he lose Ed, but he'd lose his humanity, he'd also be sentencing his friends to death. They would turn into true teapots, teacups, candelabras, clocks…they'd no longer be able to move, to talk, and more than likely they'd just simply die at the stroke of midnight. He did not know if they knew this, and even if they did there was little anyone other than Edward; poor clueless Edward, who could do anything.

Roy stared down at his little blonde's face and saw that Ed had a contemplative look on his face. He kept glancing at Roy and looking over his shoulder towards the piano. Then Ed suddenly stood still in Roy's arms, making the dancing come to a stop while the melody played on.

"Edward," Roy had to clear his throat before he could speak. The blonde was staring intently at his chest now, and Roy didn't know what to make of this. "What is it?"

Ed looked up at Roy and he could see that Ed was warring with himself over something.

"Roy, I," Ed stopped and Roy wondered for an angry moment if Dante was somehow limiting Ed's speech as she had his own. After a moment, he realized that that was not the case. "I had wanted to wait until you were human to tell you this. I dunno, I thought it would have more meaning then…But you're," he heard the blonde's voice crack and he couldn't help but squeeze Ed tighter. He could not help but hope and pray that Ed was about to say what he _needed _him to say, what he_ longed_ to hear. "Now, you're saying that at midnight you'll change and-" the music stopped. Everyone was listening to Edward's words. Edward locked eyes with Roy, and he could see the golden eyes glistening in the candlelight. "I, Roy I l-"

Both of them jumped as they heard a large crashing noise from the main hall. Roy reacted instinctually, tightening his hold around Ed, and bringing his other hand to the back of the blonde's head and held him to his chest. Roy shielded Ed with his body, despite the possible danger being in another room, letting out a low growl.

He could feel Ed's hands gripping his coat, and he heard his name being called.

"Roy, I'm alright…but what was that?" Roy slowly let go of Ed and checked him over to ensure that he was alright.

"I don't know," Roy said tersely, glaring at the door to the dining room. Whatever it was had stopped Edward from talking, and Roy couldn't make him say it, he wanted to turn back to Ed and ask, but he could feel a heavy lump in his throat. He cursed Dante.

"We should go check, Roy," Ed said as he stepped back from Roy, but was stopped by Roy's arm.

He wanted to tell Ed to stay, he had an odd feeling about this, but he _knew_ Edward wouldn't listen.

"Stay behind me, alright?" He watched as the younger bit his lip and nodded slowly. Roy started for the main hall, Edward following close behind, and Maes and the others scurrying along after them.

~/~/~

Edward stayed close to Roy as they reached the door that lead to the main hall. Past the thick door he could vaguely hear someone shouting. The voice sounded familiar and he leaned in closer to Roy's back so he could hear it better. When Roy swung the door open and stepped through it, Ed jumped in surprise.

The voice was suddenly crystal clear and he heard his name being shouted over and over again before he saw who it was. It was Winry.

_'How did she find this place? How did she find me?'_

About the same time Ed recognized her; she turned around, saw him and Roy, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Winry, it's alright!" Ed quickly stepped around Roy to comfort his friend when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he could see that Roy was nearly glaring at the girl. "Roy, its fine. She's my friend," and he pulled away from Roy and walked toward her, faintly hearing Roy mumble about something not being right.

"Edward!" When Winry suddenly hugged him tightly, Ed blinked. She wasn't crying which he thought for sure she would have, though perhaps she was just shocked by Roy's appearance. The tears would probably come later. "I can't believe it! You're really here! But…" her voice dropped. "What is that thing?" Ed watched as she nodded toward Roy who was keeping his distance.

Edward immediately got offended for Roy and got himself out of Winry's tight embrace. "He is not a thing; he is a person, Winry." At her doubtful look, he continued, "A powerful alchemist did this to him and we've been working on a way to return him to normal." Ed missed the gleam in Winry's eyes as he explained, but did see her shake her head.

"Whatever, that's not important right now," Winry said in a hurried voice. "Al's sick. Like, really sick."

Edward's eyes widened at the sound of his brother's name. "Then why the hell did you leave him alone?" he shouted, glaring at her.

"Because, Edward, the doctors in the village say there's no cure and that, well…" she trailed off and looked at the ground. Ed took a few steps back from her and bumped into Roy who caught him before his knees gave out on him. Ed clinged to Roy's warmth as he suddenly felt his body heat leach away. "He's been asking for you every day, Ed. So…I set out to find you." Her blue eyes nearly sparkled, and Ed thought in the back of his mind that she didn't sound nearly as sad as she should…though she had probably known about this for a while, he reasoned.

"Edward, you need to come with me now. I'm afraid Alphonse may not have much time left. He looked…worse tonight."

This woke Ed up from his shocked blank-faced stupor.

Of course he wanted to run to his ill brother's aid. But …that would mean leaving Roy alone in his final hours. Ed's heart was breaking as he looked at Winry, who was looking rather impatient; and Roy, whose eyes were soft and sad as he looked down at him.

"Go to your brother, Ed. We'll…I'll be fine."

Edward knew it was a lie.

"Win, if we could just wait-"

"No, Edward. We need to leave now, Alphonse could be dead by the time we get home as it is." Winry's voice was cold.

Ed turned and hugged Roy tightly, feeling the warm embrace returned. "Go Ed. You'd…You'd need to leave anyways."

He tightened his grip on Roy's fur. "I'll be back, Roy." He pulled away. "I promise I'll be back tonight. Before midnight." Ed could feel his throat tightening. He kissed Roy's cheek then turned to Winry. "Let's go."

Winry didn't waste any time and grabbed Ed's wrist and quickly the two ran out the front doors. As they ran, Ed thought he heard Roy whisper, 'I love you.' Ed wanted to turn and shout back his love for the man, but could not as he was panting from the oddly fast pace Winry set.

They stopped for a moment just a little ways outside the gate. Ed turned to look back, still considering shouting to Roy, when he saw a faint red spark come from Winry. When he turned and looked at her, he saw it was not Winry, the friend he'd known forever. It was Envy, the man who had been following him from the very beginning.

Ed turned and took off running for the gates, opening his mouth to scream when something hit his back and then a cloth was held in front of his mouth as he gasped for air. Within moments, Edward's mind grew extremely fuzzy and the last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Envy's laugh.


	27. The Realization

**Hello all ^^**

**This was ready a week ago. But...well I've honestly been feeling pretty damn depressed this week. My family left on their month long vacation and yeah. I haven't felt up to doing too much. Which...I kept thinking, 'I should at least get up and post that chapter...' but felt too down. I'm starting to feel better I think and so this chapter!**

**Also news. So...I'm gonna finish this fic...but I realized as I was plotting the next chapter that...What I wanted to put in there didn't work because it doesn't flow through the story. And that there are some loose ends in this fic. So once I finish Beauty and the Bastard, I shall be doing revising and adding a chapter or two, and tweak things up and make it all pretty and how I want it. - Just a heads up is all. XD**

**So thank you all for your reviews and favorites and I hope you all like this chapter! ^^**

* * *

><p>Roy sighed sadly as he watched the two blondes run past the property gates.<p>

It was over now. Edward would never make it back in time. "At least he's out of harm's way now," Roy murmured to himself and partially to his friends.

He could hear the others talking behind him, but he didn't register the words in his mind. He went to close the door, but…it didn't close right. Roy frowned. The door no longer seemed to fit inside the frame. An uneasy feeling began to form in his stomach. Roy closed and opened the door a few times before he noticed the dents in the thick wood. The door itself was nearly off its hinges on one side as well.

_'No one should have been able to make doors like this...do this. Even _I_ would have a hard time of it. So…how did a small girl like her do _that_?'_ Roy glared at the door before turning to look at the others.

"What were you thinking?" Jean cried out.

Gracia and Maes both looked upset as well, and kept glancing to where Elysia was. The poor teacup looked confused; she didn't understand anything after all. And Riza looked disapproving.

"Roy, was it wise to let them both go into the forest alone?" The question Riza asked made everyone fall silent, and Roy's eyes widened slightly. "And just how did this Winry get here? It would take quite some time from the village with no path _and _how dark it is either way." Riza walked closer to Roy, and he hated how the pit in his stomach grew with every word she said. "And isn't it odd that Edward has been missing for months, and she was acting like she knew where he was all along?"

Roy swore and ran up the stairs and towards his room. He shifted through his things for a few minutes, growing more and more frustrated and anxious. Finally he found what he was looking for: the mirror. Pressing his hand to the back of it, he murmured Alphonse's name. The mirror flashed and crackled in his hand as it slowly came to life.

Roy's eyes widened. From what Edward had told him about his brother, he had expected to see a suit of armor and not a human face. He took in the boy's face, seeing similar traits to his older brother. Their jawlines were similar, Alphonse's hair was a different shade of blond than Edward's, it looked a bit sandier. Their eyes however were the same, and Roy felt as though he was staring into a saddened Edward's eyes.

But what was most shocking to him was how healthy the boy looked. From the description Winry gave, Roy had thought him to be deathly ill. Alphonse looked sad, depressed even, but…still healthy.

And another thing was Winry. The girl didn't look like she'd been searching for hours in the forest for his manor, or out of the house at all. She sat across the table from Alphonse, a thick gloved hand against her cheek, wrench in front of her on the table. Grease from a machine she must have been tinkering with was smeared across her other cheek. Also, her outfit…it was completely different. The Winry in the mirror was wearing tan pants with large pockets, good for tools, and what could have been a black bra. The Winry he had seen not too long ago had been wearing her hair down, and a long brown dress.

The next shock that came to him was that the chair in between the two blondes was empty. Edward was nowhere to be seen. The words Al spoke next almost physically struck Roy.

"I think he's gone, Winry."

The blonde girl looked up sharply. "Alphonse! I'm sure he's out the-"

"Yeah, his body maybe," Al put his head in his hands as his shoulders shook. "It's been too long. You've heard all of the animals in that forest! Hell, we've even seen them come around the house." The boy took a shuddering breath. "I still want to find him…but-"

Roy removed his hand from the back of the mirror. Glancing up at the rose, glowing in the corner of his room, Roy growled lowly. His time was running out, petals fell from the flower quickly now.

Roy quickly pressed his hand to the back of the mirror before growling Edward's name, praying to a god he didn't believe in that his blonde was alright. At first he saw nothing but darkness inside the glass of the glowing mirror. Then the light slowly began to come into the glass.

It was faint, a flickering firelight at first. Then he realized that they were torches. Then he began to notice the mirror was giving him a wide view of a clearing in the forest. There were torches in a large circle, and then there was an actual circle carved into the dirt. And not just any circle, but a large and complex transmutation circle. And it looked eerily familiar.

Roy's stomach began to churn as he was able to understand the circle, and the mirror's vision began to grow closer to the ground.

Edward was there, in the center of the circle. His shirt was off and Roy saw that the circle continued on his skin, drawn onto his arm and chest. Both his flesh arm and leg were tied down, and Ed's head was turned to the side. Roy knew he was still alive by the slow way his chest rose and fell, but he was unconscious.

Roy's fur was standing on end, bristling in anger. And then he heard _her _voice. "Envy, be a dear and get rid of that arm of his and do something with his leg, I don't want a repeat of last time."

Roy dropped the mirror and ran for the door, not knowing if it had shattered or not. They were going to remove Ed's automail – they were going to hurt him. _They_ had him._ She_ had him. Roy had practically handed his love to his enemy. _He _had fallen for Dante's trick.

He passed his friends leaving them with no explanations as he ran out of the manor and into the forest. He inhaled deeply and caught Edward's scent followed by the one that must have been 'Envy.'

Roy knew he had to get to Edward quickly. To protect him from the woman that did _this_ to him. He couldn't fail Ed now, not after all this time. He would not let Ed become Dante's puppet. He _had_ to get to him in time.

~/~/~

When Ed became aware again, he could smell smoke. At first he was worried, terrified even that perhaps he was surrounded by fire, but after several moments went by, he realized he wasn't burning; he was actually kind of cold. When he tried to open his eyes, he was alarmed at how much effort it had taken to merely crack one eyelid open.

Edward realized that his thoughts were slow coming, and that he could not move his arms or legs, that he felt incredibly lethargic, that he couldn't hear very well either. His memories were slow to return to him. It hadn't been Winry, it had been Envy…_'What does this mean? What happened to Winry?...To Al?'_ Ed kept his breaking even – easier than he thought – so that whoever was around would not know he was awake. _'What about Roy?'_ Ed grew worried and it became harder to keep his breathing slow. _'What time is it? I have to get back to him!'_

From a little ways away he heard a voice saying, "Envy, be a dear…I don't want a repeat of last time."

Despite him straining to hear the words that were being spoken, many were lost to him. But he knew Envy was still here. Ed wished he could move, he wished Roy was with him. The woman's voice must have been Dante's…he hadn't been able to stay away from her, like he and Roy had hoped he'd be able to.

"Ah, Edward. We know you're awake." Ed wanted to growl as he felt Envy kick him in the side, but he couldn't get his voice to work with him. Opening his eyes, he glared at the green haired man in front of him. "I'd say this isn't going to hurt…but I'd be lying."

Ed was shocked when suddenly he was partially being lifted. Envy had grabbed his automail arm and was pulling at it. He was being lifted, he noted, because his flash hands were tied rather rightly to the ground. He gasped in pain as he could suddenly hear the metal in his port moving, being slowly bent wrong, and pulled apart. It did not hurt nearly half as much as it would if it were being put in, but Ed could not believe that Envy was actually able to pull out his arm. With a pained grunt he fell back to the ground, the pain clearing the fog in his mind a little.

"What?" Envy sounded offended as he threw Ed's arm. He heard it hit a tree. "No screams of pain? Nothing?"

"You're sick," Ed ground out, his voice sounding rough. He could see the torches behind Envy now, he could even see where his arm had been thrown – if only he could get over there…Then he saw something glint in Envy's hand. His attention was immediately returned to him.

It was a knife that was in his hand…Ed's eyes narrowed, pissed that he couldn't do anything…it reminded him of that fateful day much too much. Envy knelt down next to him, an evil smirk had grown on his face.

"I am sick, Ed. Love sick," Edward felt his stomach churn. Envy placed the tip of the dagger on Ed's cheek and circled it around his face lightly, only drawing blood on his forehead, above his right eye. "You may care for that beast now, but you'll love me in the end."

Before Ed could say anything the dagger was plunged into his automail leg. Edward blinked. The knife actually went into his leg, which was odd that the metal of the knife didn't bend or break…But also he didn't understand why Envy did it. He had no feeling in the limb after all. But the green haired menace continued to stab at the automail. Standing, Envy stepped heavily on Ed's automail foot, and actually broke it.

_'What…is he?'_ Ed grew more and more wary as the dark eyes suddenly locked with his own.

Suddenly a woman was standing beside Envy. She was like the old woman from Ed's dream, but she looked even older now. She had gray hair up in a neat bun, a light colored dress, and a dark shawl. The little red gem on her choker caught his eye before he heard her speak.

"I think that's enough, Envy dear," she gave Edward a wicked smile that sent chills down the blonde's spine.

_'Dante.'_ The name flashed through his mind. This was the woman who had been tormenting his dreams for months…The woman who had attacked him when he'd tried fire alchemy. The woman that changed Roy and the others…Ed glared at her.

He was angry. He wanted to force her to change Roy back. She was talking to him, introducing herself, but he heard no words. He was terrified as well. He wanted to run back to the manor and have Roy hold him.

A pain suddenly shot through him, the center point of it being his automail leg. Ed cried out , before looking down and seeing that the dagger Envy had held was now embedded deep into his automail at an angle. Ed gasped again in pain as he realized that it must have hit his nerves because every time his leg moved as he squirmed, new pain would flare up in it.

"Listen to Dante when she speaks to you!" Envy shouted. By the look on his face he was enjoying the pain Edward was in.

"Don't worry," Dante comforted Envy. "You can teach him appropriate manners once we're done here. He'll be all yours."

"No I won't!" Ed shouted from the ground, fighting a wince as his leg moved. "I'll never be his!" Ed wriggled more on the ground, trying to get one of his flesh limbs freed, grunting in pain as his automail throbbed.

"Ohh, Edward," Dante knelt down and patted his cheek. "You don't have a choice in this matter. Perhaps if you had helped that beast more, you wouldn't be in this position."

"What?" Ed stopped struggling for a moment and stared at her in disbelief.

"You were the key to returning him back to normal," she said bluntly as Envy left the circle. "But you can help him still. You just need to be a good, quiet, willing sacrifice of sorts."

"You're insane!" Ed knew she was lying, she had to be.

"I will be taking your soul, Edward. Your energy, your knowledge. And Envy shall get your body." Ed felt sick. "And if you do it willingly, and _stay quiet_…I'll return Roy and the others back to their original selves."

Ed bit his lip hard. He knew he couldn't get away. This was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not. Dante was already walking back to the rim of the circle. If he was willing…at least there was a chance that Roy would live, though he knew the chances of Dante keeping her promise was slim.

"I'll do it," Ed said quietly, hoping to keep the tremor out of his voice.

Dante laughed and he could hear the smile in her voice as she murmured, "Then let's begin."

He heard her hands clap and moments later the circle began to glow a dark red. Edward bit his lip until it bled, and he tasted the coppery blood on his tongue. A scream tore out of his throat; he was unable to stop it. He was being drained so forcefully, as though he were the one activating the circle. And something inside of his felt like it was being tugged out, ripped from him. His eyes were only opened to a slit, and his vision was blurred by pain.

He could see wavy black arms coming up from the circle, their hands turning from the sky and diving into his chest. Ed felt like he was choking, he tried to whimper Roy's name as his vision grew darker and darker, unable to breathe or see anymore.


	28. The End?

**Oooooo we're getting close to the end folks!**

**I'm excited for this chapter...don't kill me for the suspense I'll be leaving you with...**

**I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter guess - It was exciting to write!**

* * *

><p>Roy ran through the forest, darting around the trees, knowing Ed's time, as well as his own, was running out. He couldn't allow Dante to harm him. It didn't matter that Edward had never said those three little words that meant so much. He still loved Ed, and he would do everything he could to protect him.<p>

He could hear himself growling lowly; it was a struggle for him to stay focused as midnight drew closer. Stopping for only a moment, he inhaled deeply, catching Edward's scent again before taking off: knowing he was going in the right direction. Where Ed had been taken couldn't have been far from the manor, Roy knew, but he couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to get to this clearing.

_'Bastard must have gone and left fake trails,'_ Roy huffed as he realized he'd gone in a circle yet again. He was growing unbelievably frustrated. He couldn't believe that he had fallen for Dante's trick and practically handed Edward to her.

Roy froze suddenly and the fur on his body stood on end. Something in the air felt oh so very wrong. Above the trees ahead of him, Roy could see a dark red glow. His stomach twisted painfully and he could feel himself shaking. _'No,'_ he watched as strange black things that vaguely resembled hands began to reach for the sky. _'No,'_ the hands stopped reaching suddenly and turned in on themselves diving back down below the tree line.

A scream, pained and terrified, reached his ears then. It was blood-curdling and he flinched hard. He knew who was screaming._ 'I'm too late,'_ Roy's eyes were wide. Growling lowly before he shouted, "No!" Roy ran again, sure he was going the right way.

He nearly tripped on something and looked down, glaring at it. A moment after he realized it was Ed's arm. _'They will pay,'_ Roy picked it up and ran to the edge of the bushes. The first thing he saw was the circle with the black arms diving back inside Edward. He could faintly hear pained noises coming from the unconscious-looking blonde.

The next thing he saw was Dante, she was kneeling on the outside of the circle, slowly beginning to look younger and younger. Roy tensed a little; he knew he had to act quickly to save Edward. His hand tightened around the automail in his hand and he lifted it a little. _'If I can just hit her…'_ Roy threw Ed's arm at her, his aim better than he had hoped, as the arm hit her head and she fell to her side – disrupting the touch and control she had on the circle.

Roy could hear the man who must have been Envy cry out and start running towards him. Ignoring him for the moment, Roy ran to the circle and seeing the it had been carved into the dirt, he quickly slashed at it in a few places with his claws, thoroughly disrupting and ruining Dante's circle.

"You bastard!" Roy turned and did not hesitate to snap and set the area around Envy ablaze.

"You can wait," Roy growled as he watched the man shout and try to figure out how to get out.

Roy turned then, and went to where Edward lay. Kneeling down beside him, he cut his arm and leg free before taking a better look at the blonde. There were no marks on his chest to show that hundreds of little arms had dove into his chest. And even though he was unconscious, Roy could see that Ed look extremely tired. There were dark circles that had not been under his eyes under an hour ago and Roy gulped a little. "Edward," Roy murmured as he moved some hair away from his face. The markings Dante had drawn on his chest stood out prominently on the blonde's skin. He tried to gently rub them away, but to no avail. He frowned as he continued to observe Ed, his skin was pale and his forehead had a sheen of sweat that he could see in the torch light.

"Edward!" Roy said louder, more urgently this time. He needed to get him out of here. He needed to know what other damage had been done to Ed other than his automail arm.

~/~/~

Edward wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him once the transmutation had started. He hurt all over, especially his chest, and it felt as though his energy was gone. He could hear someone calling his name, but he just wanted to sleep. He didn't want to have to deal with anything, he was just too tired.

He could feel a warm, yet rough palm against his cheek before a sharp pain came from his left leg and his eyes sprang open with a small cry.

"Edward!" It was that voice again. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a dark figure was hovering over him. He had to blink a few times to get rid of the blurriness in his eyes. It was Roy, but he was beginning to look less like the Roy he knew and more like the Roy he had first met.

"How did you find me?" His words came slowly as he panted. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt _this_ terrible.

"Something wasn't right, I had to come after you," Roy said as he swept his hand over Ed's forehead. "How badly are you hurt?"

Edward grunted a little as the man-turning-beast helped him up. "I feel like I was the one that activated the circle, and," Ed rose his flesh hand to his chest. "It hurts here and I…" He shook his head. "Envy did something to my automail-"

"I found the arm,"

Ed shook his head slowly, feeling dizzy "He messed with my leg, hurts to move," Ed looked Roy in the eyes. "What am I supposed to do, Roy?"

The beast blinked. "What do you mean?" He looked around suddenly. "I know your leg is bothering you, but I need you to get out of here. It's close to midnight, and I need to get rid of Dante and Envy." As the beast said this he was trying to pull Ed up to his feet.

The blonde winced as he put weight on his leg. "No, Roy. Dante said that I was the key to you and the others returning to your human selves."

Roy froze, his grip on Ed tightening.

"What do I do? What am I supposed to do, Roy?"

~/~/~

Roy growled lowly, being unable to tell Ed what to do. And also…not wanting to tell him. He hated to admit that he needed this beastly strength if he wanted to get rid of Dante and Envy both. He knew if he was turned human _now,_ then both he and Edward were as good as dead.

"What you're going to do is get out of here," Roy picked him up and glanced behind him. Seeing that the flames around Envy were beginning to die down, and that Envy was preparing to jump over them, he cursed. He tried to ignore Ed's gasp of pain as he quickly went to the bushes he had come from and set Edward down next to them.

"Get out of here, I need you to stay safe. Crawl to town or the manor if you have to," Roy pressed a brief kiss to the blonde's forehead before turning and going after Envy.

"How dare you harm Dante!" Envy yelled as he leapt at Roy. The two tumbled down in the dirt. Roy watched with alarm as Envy's forearm that was above him suddenly turned into a blade. Grunting, Roy quickly raised his hand and caught the arm just before it made contact with his neck.

"So Dante must have experimented with you as well?" Roy growled.

"What do you care? My mistress takes care of me and in return I do what she wants." Roy saw a wild glint in this man's eyes. "And she said I could have the runt when she was done with him, but now you've ruined everything!"

Roy knocked Envy off of him before rolling away to avoid being hit. He glanced to where he had left Edward and felt momentarily relieved that the blonde had left. He turned to snap at Envy, but what he saw made him freeze.

His form suddenly shifted to look like Edward's. "Hey Roy,"

Roy growled, his voice mimicked his love's almost perfectly.

"What's the matter Roy? Can't hurt me, can you?" Envy said slyly.

Roy shook his head momentarily. He knew where the real Ed was. And he had seen this creature morph, so he shouldn't be hesitating…But he did find it hard to find the will to harm someone that looked like Ed…Roy snapped and set Envy's bladed arm on fire, watching as he flickered between his own form and Ed's before settling on his original form. From there, he started to charge at Roy.

"You'll never have Ed," Roy growled threateningly. "You don't care for him," he snapped again the thought of this bastard taking his blonde enraging him.

A sudden cry of pain and flash of light distracted him and he turned, seeing Dante holding Edward by his neck above the ground. "No, E-" Envy knocked him to the ground and slashed at his arm. Roy let out a roar and knocked Envy off of him, intent on finishing him off so he could get to Ed.

~/~/~

Edward watched as Roy turned from him and fought Envy. He flinched as the two fell and wanted to go out there and help Roy, but with the leg the way it was, he couldn't do much. _'If only my arm hadn't-'_ The moment Ed thought of the automail, he began to scan the clearing and behind himself, looking for it. He knew Envy had thrown it somewhere over here…so where was it? He limped over to a tree, grinding his teeth together with every step he took. Leaning heavily against it, he continued to look around.

In the torch light he saw a glint come from where Dante lay. He slowly began to make his way over to his arm, seeing that Dante was unmoving. He knew if he could just re-attach it, then he would be able to aid Roy by using alchemy, or maybe fighting, or being a distraction. As he drew closer, he realized that Dante looked younger. Less wrinkles on her face, her hair was black with only a few grey strands, and that little stone one her choker looked a bit bigger. Edward glared at her as he knelt down and reached for his arm. Placing it just outside his shoulder port, he winced knowing it would not be going back in easily if at all.

Before he pressed it fully into the port, something shoved him to the ground and he grunted in pain as the arm slammed into his port due to the addition of his body weight.

"You little brat!" Dante was awake and the next thing he knew, her hands were around his throat, her nails digging into his skin. He struggled against her as she began to lift him off the ground, his flesh hand trying to pull at one of Dante's. He tried to fight against her, but was feeling more and more tired the more he struggled. A line of fire suddenly came between him and Dante, making her drop him lest she be set on fire.

Wincing, Edward knelt on the ground and took out a small piece of chalk. He drew a quick circle and activated it, sending a jagged rock wave at Envy – hitting him successfully and knocking him away from Roy. Edward fell forward a little, panting, only just catching himself from completely collapsing. Dante's circle had taken more from him than he had originally thought, and he didn't know how many more attacks he could do.

"Edward, stop!" Roy must have seen him starting to draw another circle. "You'll rebound one of these times. Get out of here!"

Fully intent on ignoring him, Edward's hands hovered over the circle but just as he was going to press them down, he was wretched away from the circle and thrown on the ground. He stared up at an enraged Dante.

"Leave me alone, you damn bitch," Ed gasped as one of her hands went around his throat again. "Your circle is destroyed, there's nothing you can do!" He raised his hand and pulled at hers, weaker this time.

"My boy, I have this," she took the red stone from her choker and Ed could see that immediately she was beginning to age again.

_'Maybe if I could destroy that, then perhaps Dante will die?'_ Ed thought as Dante continued talking.

"You may have destroyed my circle, but if I use a little of my stone, I'll get more by completely draining you!" Edward watched as the stone began to glow in her hand and he could feel his throat constricting. Small black arms began to come from the stone and Edward had to act quickly. His hand shot out and grabbed the stone from the woman's hand. He twisted himself under her weight so he was laying on his stomach with her on his back. The old alchemist was screeching and her nails were scratching deep into the skin of his back.

Biting his lip to keep himself quiet, he quickly transferred the stone from his flesh hand to his metal one. It hurt to use the arm since the nerves were not connected correctly. But if he was doing to destroy the stone, he'd have to bear the pain. Just as he was about to crush the now delicate crystal of a stone, he hesitated. _'What if I could use this to help Roy?'_ He took a quick glance to the side, seeing him engaged in his fight with Envy, not knowing what was happening on the side. Closing his eyes, he crushed the stone. _'I wouldn't know how to transmute him back anyways…'_

As the stone broke, time seemed to slow for a few moments. Dante literally disintegrated on him with a shriek. Envy had kicked Roy hard in the stomach and turned to come for him. And Roy had crumpled to the ground, watching him with shock on his face.

_'I've got to do something,'_ Ed thought as he saw Envy nearing him. He reached out to his pre-drawn circle, but Envy lifted him up before he could touch it. Envy was screaming at him and shaking him violently, the words not making sense. Edward raised his flesh hand and metal one, and weakly tried to loosen the man's grip on him. His eyes widened when suddenly he saw one arm turn just above Ed. Growling, Roy snapped as he ran towards them, successfully hitting Envy. Roy placed himself between the two and glanced down at Edward who had fallen to the ground.

"Edward, please go," it was almost as though he could feel midnight closing in. "You can make it out of here. I can't have you getting hurt."

"Idiot," the blonde glared at him. "I'm not leaving you."

Roy was touched by the blonde's stubborn tone and words, but didn't say anything in return. Instead he ran towards Envy and lured him away from Ed so he would be in less danger.

He was sore and had several deep lacerations from Envy's arm turning into a blade at unfortunate times. He could feel the beast inside him wanting to take over. Roy was tired and almost wanted to give in, but he knew that once he did, there would be no way to regain control of himself.

He grunted in pain as Envy's foot made contact with his ribs, and in exchange, he raked his claws down Envy's arm. He saw a flash from the corner of his eye and watched as a giant hand made of rock hit Envy in the side, making him fall over.

"Edward!" Roy turned and saw Ed had activated his circle and was looking sick. "Let me take care of him! You'll cause a rebound if you do anything more!" Roy only heard the blonde cough in response.

~/~/~

Edward gasped for air as he reached again for his chalk. He didn't care if the next transmutation rebounded on him or not. He wasn't able to help Roy return to his human form, so the least he could do is protect him now.

Drawing a basic circle, he waited to activate it and watched Roy. He wished he could have sparred with him, he looked like he was a good fighter with the way he was fending off Envy and getting some decent hits in. But he was looking for Roy to misstep or Envy to try to play dirty so he could activate his circle in time.

And then he saw it, just as Roy snapped, about to set Envy ablaze for possibly the final time, Envy was swinging his blade up under Roy's arm. Ed activated the circle and a wall shot up between the two – stopping Envy's attack.

He could hear Roy shout his name as he fell sideways. Black dots were flickering in and out of his vision. Envy was still standing, flames burning him and seemingly growing, he looked like he would fall at any moment. Ed watched as he got a final attack on Roy in, while the beast was distracted. He stabbed Roy in the side and Ed watched as he cried out.

_'No, Roy, no!' _ Envy fell and did not move again, and Roy was on his knees growling in a monstrous way. Edward knew this was the end of all of them. Roy had been replaced with a true beast, and Ed knew that he probably wouldn't live to morning with the beast so near to him and enraged the way he was.

The darkness was closing in fast for him and his breathing slow and painful. He struggled with his final sentence before losing consciousness.

"Roy…I love you."


	29. Waking Up

Edward groaned weakly as bright light shone on his face accompanied by a cool breeze. Scrunching his nose he relaxed a little when a few moments later, both the breeze stopped and the light lessened. He slowly opened his eyes to see where he was, because last he knew he had been in the forest and-

"Roy!" Ed shot up and looked around wildly as he remembered what had happened. He'd been too late. He hadn't been able to figure out how to help Roy and now he was an enraged beast.

Edward's motions slowed as a sharp pain and wariness came over his body. He recognized where he was, but he couldn't think of how he could have gotten here. He was in Roy's bedroom and tucked into his bed. He could not find the rose nor the table it had once rested on. But other than that, the room was the same as he had last seen it.

_'But…how did I get _here_?'_ Ed wondered as he lay back against the pillows. Tears that had slowly formed as he remembered seeing Roy stabbed and roaring, rolled down his face slowly. He had been so sure that the beast Roy had turned into was going to kill him. That he should have never woken up again.

And yet here he was.

He was almost content to believe it had all been a dream, except he could see the old looking bruises on his body and his automail arm was in a sling._ 'Who could have brought me here? To the manor? To _this_ room?'_ Ed closed his eyes and tilted his head back into his pillow. A feeling of despair and helplessness fell over him so quickly he couldn't help it as the tears came faster as he could still smell Roy's scent from the pillows.

Edward's thoughts began to spiral down into dark and crushingly depressing thoughts. He wondered what he should do from here? Get out of the manor somehow, yes. Try to head back to town, of course. He had to make sure Al and Winry were really alright. But then what? He was changed now. He had just lost the man he loved…what could he possibly do now? Maybe it would be better if he were to just stay here and rot away in this bed. He wiped his tears away with his flesh hand and turned his head slowly toward the window, blankly watching out of it.

He was startled when he suddenly heard the sound of the door clicking open.

"Edward, you're awake!" The voice was somewhat familiar voice said.

Edward's head snapped around, frown already in place. That voice…sounded like…Roy. But it couldn't be, because it came from a man he had never seen before. "Who the hell are you?" He sat up wincing, but still ready to defend himself if he had to.

The man rose his hands in surrender and Ed examined him. His complexion was pale, and he had short black hair, bangs just slightly hanging over his eyes. His eyes were slightly almond shaped and a dark, and hauntingly familiar, blue eyes. Edward blinked a few times and bit his lower lip, not knowing what to think.

"Easy Edward," the blonde jumped and flinched back as the man placed his hands lightly on his shoulders. "You need to relax – you're still hurt." When had the man gotten so close to him?

"You didn't answer me," Edward's frown deepened as he leaned away.

The man frowned a little, and Ed stared at him. He didn't want to hope. He couldn't hope…

"I'm hurt Ed, after all this time together, you've forgotten about me in a matter of two days?" There was a weak teasing tone mixed in with worry in his voice.

"What…" Golden eyes roamed over the man again before he jerked back and shook his head, closing his eyes. It couldn't be Roy. Roy was a beast now, because Edward hadn't been able to do anything. He had seen it happen and had not been able to do anything. He flinched as he felt the bed dip as the weight of the other was added.

One of his hands moved from his shoulder to his cheek. "Edward, it's me," his voice was soft and coaxing. With his eyes closed he knew exactly who the voice belonged to. Ed opened his eyes and stared into dark blue ones.

Edward swallowed hard, feeling his eyes growing hot. He hated how his voice shook as he murmured, "Roy?"

He held his breath as he watched the man nod with a gentle smile. He was pulled tightly into an embrace then and he didn't hesitate to wrap his arm around Roy. "You're human, but how?" Ed's hand went to Roy's face, feeling the smooth skin, still unable to fully believe what he was seeing and feeling.

"You said it Edward," Roy was still smiling, watching as Edward observed him.

The blonde frowned as he looked at Roy. "Said…what?" He watched as Roy's smile grew and his face drew closer to his own.

"I love you," Edward blinked as his breath hitched. Roy was kissing him, and Ed was frozen for a moment before he closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around the back of Roy's neck. His lips were so soft and smooth, Edward couldn't help the moan that tumbled from his mouth as Roy moved back.

He could feel his face turn red and he briefly rolled his eyes. "I love you too, but you still haven't told me what it was I said that made you human." Edward was confused when Roy started laughing then.

"You said, 'I love you.'" Edward was a little surprised at how deep Roy's voice was without the low and sometimes scratchy voice he had as a beast. He almost didn't hear what Roy had said the second time. Ed blinked. He opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say before blinking again. "That's it?"

"That's it," Roy's smile was gentle as he watched Edward's face fall.

"You mean…If I had said 'I love you'-"

"And meant it," Roy interjected quickly.

"At any time then you would have turned human?" When Roy nodded again, Ed leaned back and hit his forehead, his hand gripping his hair. "You've got to be kidding me." He couldn't help but feel incredibly stupid for not saying it earlier. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ed sighed as he felt Roy pull him close again, and rub his back. "I couldn't. I tried as did the others at a few different times. Dante was preventing us from telling. So instead-"

"Instead you and the others planned all of those romantic things, hoping I'd say it." It was painfully clear to Edward now. "I'm sorry, Roy."

"Don't be," his voice was firm and he could feel lips on his forehead. "Everything is alright now."

~/~/~

Roy squeezed Ed in his arms. He was relieved that the horror of last night was over.

He had been slipping, the beast had nearly taken over when he had heard Edward's words. The words caused an odd splitting sort of pain to go through him. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain unsuccessfully. He could feel himself turning back, growing smaller, the fur disappearing.

Roy had been exhausted by the time h had finished the transformation and allowed himself to collapse on the ground. When he opened his eyes again, he knew not much time had past. As he lifted he realized there wasn't a stabbing pain in his side. And there was something else; he was staring at the hand that was supporting him, and it was actually a _hand_. He stared at it and flexed it, amazed that he was seeing his skin and not black fur.

"I'm human…" Roy murmured as he slowly propped himself up more. His clothes were hanging off of him, torn and bloodied in some areas. "I'm _human_." Roy's head snapped to where he knew Edward lay.

"Ed! Edward!" Roy called out, hoping to rouse the blonde, however he didn't move. Roy stumbled as he stood, unused to not having the added balance that his tail had given him. Making his way over to Ed, he dropped down and touched Ed's cheek. "Edward," he shook the blonde's bare shoulder, his skin cold.

_'That last transmutation…'_ Roy gritted his teeth and lifted Edward into his arms. He held Ed close to him, the blonde's cool skin making Roy nervous. _'I have to get back to the manor.'_ He carefully made his way out of the clearing. It took longer than he would have liked to navigate through the woods now that he was human. When he saw the gates leading to his manor, he breathed a sigh of relief and shifted Ed in his arms. He could see lights in the windows and a smile grew on his face. He could see figures moving inside and saw them dart toward the door as he came closer.

"Roy!" The doors were thrown open and Maes stood there – human. He helped him in when he saw Ed in his arms. "What happened, Roy? What's wrong with Ed?"

"First, I need you all to help me with him-"

"We've got the room prepared, I already sent Riza to get a bath going and Jean is helping Gracia and Elysia in the kitchen," Maes closed the doors and made sure the lock was tight.

"Thank you," Roy felt his shoulders drop a little.

Roy explained to Maes and Riza what had happened after he had cleaned the transmutation's markings off of the blonde's skin, and had put the automail arm in a sling.

"He did it unknowingly," Riza smiled slightly and pulled the covers up higher on the blonde. "Any ideas when he will wake up?"

"None," Roy shook his head. "I want to send for his mechanic and brother, but I want to be sure he'll be awake when they arrive." He glanced at his friends faces, still adjusting to seeing them human again and standing at similar heights to him. "I don't know how much energy Dante had been able to draw from him, all I do know is that he overdid it. I don't think there were any rebounds, because he looks for the most part unharmed…he just needs to wake up."

"Do you know," Maes began before stopping and thinking about what to say next. "Do you know if he saw you change?" When Roy shook his head 'no,' Maes continued, a tad warily. "He'll have no idea who we are then…"

"He'll figure it out," Roy murmured as he sat beside Edward in bed. He gave the blonde a soft look as he straightened his bangs out of his face. "He's smart."

~/~

And after two long, grueling days to Roy, Edward had woken up.

"But I could have helped you and the others sooner – and all I wanted to do was study and –" Roy tilted his head up and kissed his moving lips until they began to move with his own.

"Edward, everything is alright now," Roy murmured as he pulled away a little. He rubbed the blonde's back and smiled. "We're all human again. Of course it would have been nice to be human sooner, but if it hadn't been for you, then none of us would be here now."

Before he could say anything else, there was a short knock on the door that made them both turn. The door swung open and Maes bounded in. He could feel Ed tense and lean further into him as Maes come closer. Glancing down he saw the blonde's eyes widen and scan his friend, clearly trying to figure out who it was.

~/~/~

Edward watched this new man carefully. He was smiling at Edward excitedly and looked like he could hardly contain himself. Light green eyes were framed with familiar looking glasses. He had short black hair and a slight beard as well…

"Ohh, Edward! You're awake! Just wait 'til you see Elysia – she's too cute!" The man wiggled in front of them.

_'Maes,'_ Ed cracked a smile and laughed a little.

"You're all…okay?"

"Of course!" His voice grew serious. "We've heard from Roy what happened, Ed. We're glad you're still with us." The moment Ed smiled a little more, Maes jumped back to the topic of Elysia. "She's just so adorable – just moments ago she was helping Gracia make lunch! Oh, I really must find what happened to my camera and –"

"Maes," there was a laugh to Roy's voice. "Why don't you let the others know he's awake?"

Green eyes brightened. "I'll go grab them right now! Be back in a minute!" He was out the door before he finished talking.

Ed laughed and tilted his head up to look at Roy. "Wow, has he always been like this?"

Roy hummed, keeping his arms around Ed as he shifted them so he sat behind the blonde. "He'll be worse once he finds where we hid the camera. He'll then have an artillery of photos as well."

Edward laughed and put his flesh hand over both of Roy's, tracing small circles on his skin. Smiling to himself and feeling a little better after seeing Maes, he wondered what the others looked like, if they would be any different from how they had acted the last time he had seen them.

There was a soft knock before a man entered the room with a smile. A cigarette hung from his mouth and his hair was a sandy blond and his blue eyes glimmered mischievously. "Hey there, you're finally awake, chief. Roy was bending over backwards; he was so worried about you." Ed recognized the teasing tone as Jean's and laughed. A loud 'thwack' and Ed saw Jean clutching his head and an angry woman about Jean's height beside him now.

"What the hell was that for Riza?"

"I've told you not to smoke in the manor, especially with Ed as he is and Elysia around." Ed stifled his laughter as brown eyes turned to him. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Ed."

Ed nodded at them both, still taking in the sight of their human forms and suddenly there was a little girl in his lap. Ed winced a little as there was a slight jolt in the nerves of his automail leg. He didn't need to guess at who the little girl who was chanting his name was.

"It's nice to see you too," Ed tousled her light brown hair and as the final person, a woman, came in – followed by a gushing Maes, Elysia climbed off of him.

"Here you go, Ed." She smiled down at him, giving him a tray with a steaming bowl on it. Ed thanked Gracia as he saw she had made his favorite.

"Daddy, can Edward come outside and play with me later?"

Edward winced a little at the thought. As much as he'd love to play with her-

"He can't today, Elysia," the blonde tilted his head up and looked at Roy. "His arm and leg aren't working."

The child crossed her arms and pouted for a moment before sighing and hugging Edward, minding the tray. "Feel better soon, Uncle Ed. I wanna play with you!" She got up and left the room shortly after that saying something about dolls.

"Maes," Roy called the father back as he and the others began to leave the room. "Could you run an errand for me?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

Ed looked between the two of them as Roy moved himself away from him and instead, lay him back against the pillows. "We'll talk in the hall," he said to Maes before he turned back to Edward's questioning amber eyes. "I'll be back in a minute, eat and relax. You need to regain your strength."

Edward nodded slowly as he watched the door close behind both men. He knew Roy was up to something, but he didn't know what.

~/~/~

It was just another late day in May for Alphonse. He would sit around the house and read most days, others he would go to town with Winry for a few hours while she ran errands. He had not gone back into the armor that he had stayed in for so many years. It was rusted and old; the metal flaking off in several areas, they had put the armor in the cellar a few weeks prior, not entirely sure what to do with it yet.

Today was one of those days where Al would lay under one of the large trees in front of their house with a book. He wasn't reading it though, he more stared off in the distance, lost in his thoughts. He'd think of Edward mostly. He wondered what had happened to him. Was he dead? If he was, how did he die? He didn't like thinking that, he hated it, but he couldn't help but wonder. If his brother was alive, why hadn't he come back? Maybe he hurt himself, and somehow got amnesia? It's nearly been a year, someone should have found him by now…

Al stiffened a little as he realized he saw a person walking up the road to the house. The man waved jovially at him, but Al made no motion back at first, before hesitantly waving. He didn't recognize this man and he knew Winry didn't have any appointments for the day…

Standing, Al started to move towards the path, figuring he shouldn't be rude. "Hello, sir, how can I help you?" he said with a small smile – Winry would kill him if he scared off a customer.

"Is Miss Rockbell in? A friend of mine's automail got wrecked," the green eyes behind the glasses flashed with excitement. He seemed oddly…not worried about this friend of his.

"Yes, she is…I'll get her in just a moment, if you'll wait out here." Al didn't quite see this guy as a threat – he was so happy and friendly…but that didn't mean A; wanted him in the house.

"Oh, yes of course! Thank you so much!"

Al nodded and opened the door before closing it softly behind him.

"Winry!" he called softly, hoping she'd respond. Instead he heard a whir-ing noise and sighed knowing she would not like being interrupted. Walking quietly toward the room her workshop was in, he knocked on it. Still no response. Bracing himself for a wrench to his head, he opened the door slowly. "Winry –"

"Goddamn, Al!" The blonde jumped and dropped the appendage she had been working on. "You know not to come in here when I'm working."

Al waited a moment for her to calm down before saying, "There's a potential customer waiting outside."

Winry blinked. "Why didn't you says so sooner?" She quickly threw off the googles she had over her eyes and glanced in the mirror as she stood. "Ugh, damn grease gets everywhere," she rubbed at what was on her face as she moved past Al. He followed behind her as she went straight for the door and swung it open sharply.

"Hello there, sir! I am Winry Rockbell, how can I help you?" She stuck out a hand to shake with and the bearded man smiled broadly and took it.

"I'm Maes Hughes, so glad you were in, otherwise I don't know what I would do!" He let go of Winry's hand and looked at them both, Al wasn't sure what to think. "My friend wrecked his automail in – a little accident." Al noted the hesitation in the explanation.

Winry hummed a little in thought, a frown on her face. "They already have automail?" The man nodded, and Winry shook her head a little. "Then they should see the creator of that automail. I wouldn't want to mess with another engineer's work."

Mr. Hughes' face fell. "But Miss, he can't travel and uh, you're the closest one!" Al knew there was another mechanic in the next town over, but he also knew Winry was better than him.

"I suppose I could, at the very least, look at it. At least to get it suitable for use until he can get to his usual mechanic. I'll just need to grab a few materials and tools before we head out. What limbs are automail?"

"His right arm and left leg."

Both Al and Winry stiffened for a moment, and Al knew Winry was thinking the same thing he was – those were the limbs Ed had lost.

"W-well, I'll be right back, Al if you need anything you should get it now." She turned and hurried into the house.

Al laughed a little awkwardly as he looked back to Mr. Hughes. "We'll be back in just a moment, sir. If you don't mind?"

"Oh, no! Don't mind at all!" Mr. Hughes made shoo-ing motions. "This give me time to figure out which story of my adorable daughter to tell you first!"

~/~/~

Edward sighed as he lay in Roy's bed. He had brought him a few books from the library to help pass the time when Roy wasn't there. In the few hours that he had been awake, Ed could still not believe what had happened. Whenever Roy came in to check on him, Ed would examine Roy's human form.

He tilted his head back on the pillow and smiled a little. Even if his arm and leg were broken scrap metal from the fight, it mattered very little to him. Though when he were to see Winry again, he was sure to get a wrench to his head. Closing his eyes for a moment he picked up the book on his chest and stared at the words on the page, not really comprehending them. Now that Dante was dead and assembly Envy too, Edward was pretty sure that it would be okay for him to go back to the town. Of course he would have to get Roy or one of the others to come with him as he could not stand without support currently.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a loud commotion coming from downstairs. He sat up slowly, hearing many footsteps and Elysia singing, "Yay~ Guests!" over and over. After a few minutes he could hear the foyer grow quiet. A soft knock on his door let him know of a visitor. Seeing Roy come in with a small smile on his face as he closed the door, Ed grew curious.

"What's going on?" Ed questioned as Roy drew closer to the bed before sitting beside the blonde.

"Maes just got back, he ran an errand for me in town," Roy answered as he reached for Ed's hand.

"And he brought back people?" Roy squeezed his hand and the blonde frowned, confused. He knew Roy and the others needed to become re-known to the world, but he didn't quite understand why he brought people from town here-

"I sent him to get someone to fix your automail," Roy must have noticed his frown.

"But Roy, Winry would murder me if someone besides her touched my automail!" Edward heard a soft gasp come from the doorway. Looking over to it, he saw it was still closed. Roy stood from the bed, the small smile growing. "Roy?" He didn't get a response as Roy put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it. Edward could feel his eyes go wide and his jaw drop just a little as he saw who stood behind the door.

A lemon blond girl holding a small traveling case stood beside a sandy blond teenager.

"Winry? Al?" Ed sat up further, wincing a little in pain. He stared at his brother; he hadn't seen him out of the armor _willingly_ in years and here he wa- "Ow! What the hell, Winry?" Ed cried out as he grabbed his forehead, the offending wrench fell onto the comforter.

"You idiot! What did you do?" She was crying, Edward noticed now. "Wh-where'd you go? What happened to you?"

Rubbing his head, his glare at Winry softened. "Sorry, Win. Didn't mean to wreck your automail."

"I'm not talking about automail," she shook her head. "I'm talking about _you_."

Edward felt his cheeks redden, feeling a little stupid and turned his gaze to his little brother. "Alphonse?"

Al was just staring at him, not moving – Ed wasn't sure he was breathing.

"Brother…" Ed braced himself as he saw Al walk past Winry and closer to him. Yet he still had to stifle a groan of pain as Al hugged him tightly and Ed wrapped his flesh arm around his back. "We thought you were dead!" The blonde flinched and held his brother tighter.

"I would have been if it hadn't been for Roy." Edward glanced over Al's shoulder, expecting to see the man by the door. However he must have left the room at some point. Ed smiled and nodded his head at Winry, who came over and joined the brothers' hug. "I missed you both, so much. I'll tell you everything. From the beginning…"

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone! <strong>

**I'm so sorry about the wait. I truly never meant for the break to be this long. The usual school and work got in the way…**

** I was stressed this semester, the department store I got a job at last fall is well…not reliable with hours. The most hours I ever have gotten is from November to two weeks after Christmas. This last week I got 9.5 hours…and this coming week…I have 4. So I was looking for a second job and applying all over the place….got nowhere and had a bunch of crap interviews. So…I'm still at that department store…and well, I'm back to looking for a second job again ^^;;;**

** And…School has been stressful. I tried not to write this semester, and I really barely wrote, because I wanted to keep my grades up!...They were still C's. So now I'm switching majors…I've been Accounting…to Finance for literally...not even a full semester...And now last week I changed to yet another major and had to change all of my classes… **

**And my family has been stressing me out too.. **

**But anyways. I'm back. There is an epilogue. It's partially written now, and will hopefully be finished soon. I will post it as soon as I can.**

**And I thank you all for the support for this fanfic. I really do appreciate all your reviews as well as your patience.**

**Thank you. ^^**


	30. Epilogue

**Well hello again, and Happy Holidays!**

**Um...yeah I'm really sorry about...the super long wait. I know it's nearly been a year. I'm sorry. Life ran me over and neither me nor Mii-ch4n had the time to type. Earlier in September I had thought that both of us could work on typing this and then we got pummeled with projects and homework and group work and such. **

**I have a Facebook account : XFeli-Chanx I am the one with the picture of Ed sliding off the hospital bed.**

**Also I have a new blog, and Mii-ch4n thinks I should link it here and so do I. It'll also be added to my profile I suggest you read that or the FB one. More likely I'll be updating the blog more often.**

**This is it guys! The true end to this FMA tale.**

**I hope you have all enjoyed the story and I thank you so very very much for all the reviews and favorites and follows. You guys are the best. And I love reading your feedback. So again thank you again for coming along on this ride.**

**Well, that's it! I hope you will all enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading Beauty and the Bastard/BastarBeast.**

* * *

><p>Edward waved to Elysia as her mother led her out of the sitting room. "Don't worry, Gracia. I'll pick up the toys."<p>

"And I'll help too," Maes chimed in after he had stooped cooing over Elysia and kissed her goodnight. Turning to Ed he sighed, "isn't she just the cutest?"

Ed chuckled as he squat down and began picking up some of the dolls he had transmuted for the young girl. "Yeah, pretty adorable," he said as he shook his head with laughter. The two of them picked up the dolls, blocks and other toys that had been spread around the sitting room in a peaceful silence for a few minutes.

"Dinner was good," Ed said as he tossed a few blocks in the basket at Maes' knee.

Maes hummed. "Yes, it's gotten better since she first started again as a human. And judging by your reactions at dinner there's a large difference in taste than before?"

"Yeah, probably because now she can taste as she is making the food – It was still good then, but there's a huge improvement," Ed sat back and looked around the darkened sitting room for a moment as some of the candles had run low or had been previously snuffed out.

"How's your brother and his girl?"

"They're not dating…yet," Ed laughed and looked up at the decorated ceiling. "They're doing good. Winry is getting more patients that need her medicinal skills, rather than her mechanical ones and she's a little upset about that."

"You'd think she'd be glad people aren't losing limbs," Maes sounded confused.

"Yeah, she is. She just wants to work on automail more," he watched as Maes nodded. "Al is doing good, I guess the guy in the bookshop in town is going to give him a job so that's good."

"You're proud of your brother aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course. He's got a job, he's gonna have a girlfriend sooner than later, and he's finally – literally – out of his shell…Of course I'm happy for him."

"And you'll be happy here?"

"I think so," Ed closed his eyes and stood up. "I'll have you all and Roy. I'll get to travel and learn more alchemy with Roy." He sighed with a smile. To be honest, he was excited to travel, it was something he had always wanted to do. He wanted to see the world and learn about other cultures and their styles of alchemy. And traveling with Roy would make it be even better – he'd have a travel companion and him and Roy would get to be truly alone. While he would be learning about cultures, Roy would be renewing business with firms that had believed he had disappeared. It would be doing both of them some good.

"The two of you will have fun. Honestly can't wait 'til you guys go. Me and Gracia will have the manor to ourselves for a bit," Maes chuckled.

"That's right," Ed nodded as he picked up the toy basket and moved it to the side of the room. "Riza and Jean are leaving to visit their families in a few days, right?"

"Yep, two days, and they're out the door too. Don't worry, the manor won't be too wrecked by the time you and Roy get back," he joked as he followed Ed out of the room.

Edward shook his head, laughing as he headed over to the trunk and suitcase he had brought from Winry's house. Grabbing both, he slung the suitcase over his shoulder and began rolling the trunk over to the stairs.

"Hey Shorty, need some help with that?" Ed twitched and slowly turned to look over his shoulder.

"What'd ya call me?" Jean laughed as he walked over and Ed cursed. Since the transformation back, Jean enjoyed poking fun at Ed – as the only person shorter than him in the manor was Elysia.

"Here, you start up first," the blonde grabbed the back end of Edward's trunk, and Ed huffed and rolled his eyes as he picked up the front. "One, two, three," Jean grunted as they lifted and started up the stairs. "Damn Kid, what do you have in here? Bricks?"

"No, just books and a few of my clothes that didn't fit in here," Ed lifted the suitcase a little off his shoulder.

"I have no clue how you were able to get this here," Jean grunted again. Once they got to the top of the stairs, Jean plopped down on the top step and lay down on the floor.

"It wasn't that heavy!" Ed moved the trunk on his own, so that it was back on its wheels.

"Maybe not to you," the other man retorted as he signed before getting up. "See you tomorrow, Kid," he waved as he walked back down the stairs.

Edward looked at the picture frames that had been cleaned and replaced while he was away. New ones were mixed in with the old – it made him smile, especially when he noticed a few shots of him and Roy that he didn't remember posing for.

Opening the door to their room, Ed noted that Roy must have been in recently as some of the gas lamps were still on. Setting his things down off to the side of the door he turned off all but one, figuring that either he or Roy would be retiring for the night soon.

Going over to the dresser, he took out a pair of smooth, loose fitting, black pants and a similar fabric red, long sleeve shirt. Both were a little big on him – Winry had hoped he had grown while he was away, as they had been a recent gift from her.

Edward walked out and down the hall just a little farther to where he saw that the library's door was propped open. Stepping inside, he smiled at seeing Roy hunched over his desk in front of the fireplace. There were a few small stacks of sealed envelopes that Edward knew were to try to get back in touch with other alchemists, businesses and friends.

Edward's eyes drank in the sight of Roy, he hadn't seen very much of him today and knew he really shouldn't interrupt him right this moment. He wanted so badly to be near Roy and to relearn him – but they had yet to have the chance. When he had been recovering, either Al or Winry would make themselves known, and never really left the two of them alone when Roy would visit. His eyes traced Roy's broad shoulders as the man stretched and his robes shifted. He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to hold Roy now…

Shaking his head, he huffed and tried to walk around the desk casually. He sat down rather ungracefully on one of the couches that had been placed between Roy's desk and the fireplace. Edward grabbed the book on the coffee table, before he lay back and faced the fire. Smiling a little he decided that this was another thing he could get used to.

~/~/~

"So," Jean said, dragging out the word as he walked into the kitchen. Maes and Riza were the only ones in the room and he quickly slid over to Maes. "How much longer do you think until they do the _deed?"_

Maes gave him an odd look and Riza's eyes began to narrow. "Jean…"

"What? Elysia is in bed now!"

"Ohh, you mean _that_ kind of deed!"When both blonds gave him dubious looks, he shrugged before saying, "Who says they haven't done it already?"

"Oh come on Maes. Even you're not that dense. You can practically feel the sexual tension between the two!" Maes nodded as Jean continued on. "I bet they'll shag tonight."

Riza's eyes widened, "I can't believe the two of you, is this all you men think about?"

Maes snorted and ignored Riza. "Why would they do it tonight? Why not wait until they are traveling, when they'll be all alone?"

"Perhaps they'll want a more familiar setting?"

Riza shook her head, a little disgusted with the both of them. When the two still continued to bicker about it, she whacked them both on their shoulders. "So you two know how childish you are acting? What does it matter?"

"Really!" Both men jumped as they nursed their shoulders, at the sound of Gracia's voice. "It isn't any of our business when or where a couple does such things," her face was a little red and she went to stand beside Riza, her arms crossed. Maes and Jean both looked down and muttered their apologizes. "Besides," Gracia laughed, smirking and taking every by surprise. "I doubt they'll even make it out of the library!"

~/~/~

Roy smirked a little as he watched Ed reach for his book. He'd known the blonde had been in the room for a while, and Roy did not need his previous superior sense of smell to know from how dark the blush on his cheeks were, what Ed had been thinking of. Shaking his head, he tried again to focus on the papers and half written letters in front of him.

Getting reconnected to the world was no easy business; Roy hadn't thought it would be, of course. But he hadn't been thinking it'd be so much paper work. He was writing letter after letter to previous acquaintances and old friends, trying to find a way to explain his sudden disappearance for two years. He wrote in the letters varying dates of when he would arrive at their homes or businesses and asking if they would prepare for two, as he'd have a_ companion_ with him. He glanced up from his current letter to and old friend in Xing, to watch Edward for a few moments.

Roy was glad that the blonde had agreed, quite happily, to travel with him. He would have hated to leave him behind and he had a gut feeling that he would be traveling for a few months, and at least now the traveling would be fair at the very least. He could imagine how they would pass their time, easily. Ed wanted to learn more about other cultures and types of alchemy, which Roy would gladly take part in. And Roy knew that they would banter with each other as always as they traveled, and that they would spend their nights together –

Roy shook himself, mournfully tearing his gaze away from the image of Edward relaxing and sighing through his lips, looking rather welcoming to Roy in the way the black silk bottoms were drooping around his waist and the way the shirt dipped low on his chest. Trying to refocus on the letter, he told himself if only he could just finish this on, he could retire for the night.

However he had barely written half of another sentence when Edward shifted and quietly groaned from where he was on the couch. Unable to recall his thoughts again, his gaze flitted from the half written letter to the blonde on his couch. Sighing in resignation, he smirked a little and put the letter away in his desk, and the pen back in its holder.

"Edward?" he asked as he propped his head up on his hand. He watched as the blonde jumped a little and tilted his head back to face him. "Do you want to head to bed?" Roy didn't miss the way Ed's cheeks began to redden, even as he turned his head back and attempted to slouch out of Roy's view.

"Yeah, just waitin' on you, Bastard," the blonde put a bookmark in his spot and turned back to Roy, not yet sitting up. "You almost done?"

Roy chuckled at the name calling and shrugged as he stood and began to walk around the desk. "With the letters? Nearly, however I am done for tonight." He leaned over Edward and smirked at him before murmuring softly, "I do hope you won't call me that in bed," Roy kissed Edward's lips quickly before standing again and moving slightly out of hitting range.

"No guarantee there," Ed glared mildly at Roy as he sat up and watched the man snap to extinguish the flames in the mantle.

"What a shame," Roy jokingly chided as he held out a hand for Edward to take. "Shall we go now?"

"Yeah, yeah," Edward grabbed his hand and began to walk quickly out of the library. Despite the blonde's attempts to prevent Roy from seeing how embarrassed and flushed he was, Roy could see it, easily and gently squeezed his hand and smiled as he felt it returned.

~/~/~

Once he heard Roy close the bedroom door, he shuddered a little and stepped further into the darkened room, toward the gas lamp. He had been anticipating this for the past few hours since he had come back to the manor that he now called home. He drew close to the bed and turned a little, not hearing Roy behind him. "Roy?" Edward heard himself let out an 'eep' as he found himself staring up at the said man, on the bed, who wore a smirk on his face.

Edward squirmed underneath Roy's weight and scooted himself further on to the bed. He opened his mouth to protest at Roy grabbing the hem of his shirt, when soft lips pressed against his own. As Roy's tongue gently slid over his, causing him to moan involuntarily, he felt Roy putting his arm behind his back and pulling him up into a sitting position. Just before Ed could wrap his arms around Roy, the man pulled back and he felt the fabric of his shirt slide up his chest and over his face. He opened his eyes as he heard it land on the floor.

Golden eyes narrowed playfully at Roy's laughing blue ones. Two could play this game after all. Edward shifted his hips quickly and flipped them over so he was straddling Roy's waist. With minor difficulty due to his metal fingers Edward tugged and pulled the knot of Roy's robe apart, as he kissed the man's lips in quick succession. Moving away the sides of his shirt sides, he ran his hands up and down Roy's chest, making him shiver at the touches. Edward gasped as Roy's hand snaked it's way behind his head and held him at the bas of his neck.

Edward pulled back for a moment, giving Roy a small smile. He saw a thoughtful look cross his lover's face as his hands came up to his chest. "What is it?"

"I never thought we'd be able to do this, like this," Roy murmured, moving his hand from Ed's neck to his cheek. "And I'm glad we can."

Edward hummed and leaned into Roy's touch, not quite sure what to say in response, but loved the way Roy was looking at him. Leaning down he closed his eyes and kissed Roy again. He let out a small groan as Roy's hand moved from his cheek, up past his ear and back into his hair as his other arm wrapped tightly around Ed's waist. He pressed himself further against Roy, shivering as the fingers at his side brushed along his skin.

He could feel Roy shifting under him, but didn't pay attention to the movements until he found them both rolling onto their sides. He took a breath and pulled away from Roy's lips, curiously looking into dark and playful blue eyes that gleamed in the light of the lamp. Before he could really question it, Roy rolled them again and Ed wrapped his arms around Roy's chest as he was now the one laying on his back, and pressed their lips back together.

He felt as though he couldn't get enough. Ed needed more of Roy's skin, of Roy's lips, of Roy's kisses that ignited a fire within him. He wanted to move, and by the way Roy was responding to him and pressing against him, Ed could guess he felt similarly.

Roy's hands made a shivery trail on Ed's skin as they slid down his sides and came to rest at his hips, just over the waistband of his pants. In his own way of consenting, the blonde rubbed his hips up to meet Roy's own and slid his hands down to his partner's waistband. Together the two of them laughed between kisses as they bumped noses and chins as they helped each other to remove their pants and underwear.

Edward stared up at Roy, a soft smile on his face as he took in the expanse of soft skin and muscled body above him. Roy held himself above Edward and he returned the smile. Neither moved for several moments; almost not wanting to break the quiet. Edward found himself moving first. He raised a hand to Roy's cheek, and then lifted his face to meet Roy's lips. He could feel Roy's arm buckle slightly as Ed's tongue slid into his mouth and a muffled moan sounding similar to Edward's name was uttered. Edward spread his legs around Roy and wrapped one around Roy's waist. Once he managed to lower Roy's waist enough, he wrapped his automail leg around him as well. Both men groaned as their erections pressed against each other and their kiss broke as they panted.

Edward could feel his cheeks reddening as he stared up into Roy's lust filled gaze. He was sure his own gaze was similar and believed he could see the faintest traces of pink on Roy's cheek bones in the dim lighting. Roy made the next move of the night. Ed gasped and pressed against him as Roy bent his head down and nipped at the blonde's neck. Edward tilted his head back against the pillows as Roy continued to trail nips and kisses up his neck and under his chin. The blonde whimpered as Roy teased at the sensitive skin. Ed tightened his grip on Roy's shoulders and rolled his hips up and let out a breathy moan.

"Lube?" Edward's face grew red at the husky tone Roy used as he whispered into Ed's ear. Before he could respond, there was a warm tongue toying with his ear. He made a quiet noise before Roy stopped and disentangled himself from the blonde's legs.

Roy came back to him, his fingers slick with the substance, and Ed wrapped his arms loosely around Roy's shoulders as the man hovered over him. He shivered as he could feel Roy's finger rubbing against him, before slowly beginning to slide in. Edward lightly dug his nails into Roy's shoulders while making an odd noise of discomfort as Roy added a second finger. After a moment he nodded for Roy to continue, attempting to relax himself again. Roy moved his fingers inside him, setting a steady pace. Ed leaned his neck forward and licked and nipped at Roy's neck as he began to suck on the skin of the collarbone, Roy touched something within him that made him shiver and bite down harder.

Roy was running his other hand over Ed's hip, rubbing it in a soothing way until that point, and now it moved to the blonde's erection. He stroked it slowly causing Edward to buck his hips and tilt his head away to pant. Edward's mind was becoming one tracked as his body tried to follow both of Roy's hands. "Damn it, Roy." He only got a husky chuckle in response.

For a moment, Ed didn't realize that Roy's fingers had left him, until he felt the head of Roy's cock beginning to push in. He didn't have a clue as to _when_ Roy had lubed himself, but he already lost track of where that thought had been heading as Roy's thumb rubbed the tip of his member. Ed could feel the heat in his cheeks rise as he realized he was making all kinds of noises, and the way Roy stared at him as he fully sheathed himself inside and groaned out his name made Edward want to melt into the mattress.

Roy rocked his hips gently and Ed gasped and shivered. Roy slowly began to stroke him again with one hand and he was propping himself up with the other. Ed threaded his fingers through his short hair and pulled his head down and hungrily kissed Roy's lips. The two groaned and panted between kisses.

Edward let out a sharp cry as he came, his automail hand clenched in Roy's hair and his flesh hand on the back of Roy's neck. Roy came shortly after, breathing heavily into the crook of Ed's neck. They lay still like that for several minutes.

"I love you," Ed shivered under Roy as he turned to stare into his dark blue eyes.

"I love you too," Ed smiled as he kissed him.

~/~/~

Gracia sat in the sitting room, working on an old sewing project, by a sunny window. Jean and Riza had returned just under a week ago to the house and the preparations were complete for the manor the return of Roy and Edward. Maes and Jean were in the kitchen playing a card game, and Riza had gone into town to get food for dinner. Gracia stilled in her sewing and smiled as her daughter came running into the room, her teddy bear held tightly to her.

"Mommy, Mommy…" her daughter plopped down on the carpet and sprawled out on it. "I'm bored and so is Teddy."

"Would you like to help me sew?" Gracia laughed as Elysia vigorously shook her head.

"Can I see Uncle Al and Auntie Winry today?" the girl sat up, a pout ready on her face.

"Not today honey, Winry said she'd be busy," Elysia's pout grew.

"Mm, hey Mommy can you tell me that story again from last night?"

Gracia smiled and set aside her sewing as she nodded. "Come here," she motioned for her daughter to get on her lap, which she gladly did.

"You see, once upon a time, there was a beauty and a be-"

"BASTARD!"

Elysia squealed as she heard her Uncle Ed's voice from outside and jumped off of her mother's lap to greet both uncles. Gracia put a hand on her forehead and laughed to herself.


End file.
